Kerry Williams Kelso O'Brien (born 19 July 1951), 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. O'Brien has been a member of the Australian Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

 for the state of Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 since September 1996, representing the 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...

.

Background

O'Brien was born in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. He was a research officer and elected official with the Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union 1974-92, and Tasmanian Branch Secretary of the Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union

Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union

United Voice, formerly known as the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union is a large Australian trade union, with around 130,000 members...

 1992-96.

Political career - Australian Senate

O'Brien was an Opposition Whip in the Senate 1998-2001, and has been a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry since November 2001. He was Shadow Minister for Primary Industries and Shadow Minister for Resources 2001-03, Shadow Minister for Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs and Shadow Minister for Tourism, Regional Services and Territories 2003-04, and Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Local Government and Territories 2004-05. He was appointed Shadow Minister for Transport in June 2005.

He currently holds the position of Chief Government Whip

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

 in the Senate.

On 9 April 2010, he lost Labor preselection for the Australian federal election, 2010.