Chris Bourke is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician, currently a Labor

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly

Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly

The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory...

 representing the electorate of Ginninderra

Ginninderra electorate

The Ginninderra electorate is one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It has five seats, and is the smallest of the electorates in geographic area.-History:...

. He is the first Indigenous Australian elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly. He filled the casual vacancy created by the resignation of former Chief Minister

Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory

The Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of party with the largest representation of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly usually takes on the role...

 Jon Stanhope

Jon Stanhope

Jonathan Ronald Stanhope is a former Australian politician who was Labor Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2001 to 2011. Stanhope represented the Ginninderra electorate in the ACT Legislative Assembly from 1998 until 2011. He resigned as Chief Minister on 12 May 2011 and as...

. His election was the result of a countback of ballots cast for Stanhope in the 2008 Australian Capital Territory election

Australian Capital Territory general election, 2008

Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 18 October 2008. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Zed Seselja. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single...

.

Bourke grew up in country Australia. He graduated from Melbourne University in 1982, where he was the first Indigenous Australian to complete a dentistry degree. He undertook graduate studies at Adelaide University and Sydney University. Prior to being elected in 2011, Bourke worked as a dentist

Dentist

A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...

, performing locum

Locum

Locum, short for the Latin phrase locum tenens , is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another. For example, a locum doctor is a doctor who works in the place of the regular doctor when that doctor is absent, or when a hospital/practice is short-staffed...

dentistry work in remote areas of Australia after a period of private practice in Canberra. He is President of the Indigenous Dentists' Association of Australia.