Graham John Edwards 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, was an Australian Labor Party

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 House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 from 1998 to 2007, representing the Division of Cowan

Division of Cowan

The Division of Cowan is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. The division was created in 1984 and is named for Edith Cowan, the first woman elected to an Australian Parliament. It is located in the northern suburbs of Perth, including the suburbs of Girrawheen, Greenwood,...

.

He was born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, and voluntarily joined the Australian Army

Australian Army

The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...

 for service in the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 in 1968. On 12 May 1970, he was severely injured, losing both legs. After leaving the Army he joined the Department of Defence as an officer with the Vietnam Veterans' Counselling Service. He was elected to the Council of the City of Stirling in 1981.

Edwards was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council

Western Australian Legislative Council

The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the Legislative Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state...

 in 1983. He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet 1987, Minister for Sport and Recreation 1987-89, Minister for Consumer Affairs 1988-93, Minister for Racing and Gaming, Sport and Recreation and Youth 1989-90, Minister for Police and Emergency Services 1990-93, Minister for the Aged 1990-91. Following the defeat of the Labor government of Carmen Lawrence

Carmen Lawrence

Carmen Mary Lawrence is a retired Australian politician; a former Premier of Western Australia and the first woman to become Premier of a State of the Commonwealth of Australia....

 in 1993, he was Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council and Shadow Minister for Tourism and Fisheries 1993-94. He retired from the Legislative Council in 1997.

Graham Edwards was first elected to the Australian parliament at the 1998 federal election. He retired from politics at the 2007 federal election. http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17944786%255E1702,00.html