Marsha Thomson, born 21 December 1955 in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, 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, is a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

 for the division of Footscray.

Thomson was an economic research officer, ministerial adviser, Implementation Manager with V/Line

V/Line

V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...

 and Executive Officer of Youth Policy Development Council before being elected to the Legislative Council for Melbourne North Province in September 1999. She was Minister for Consumer Affairs 1999-2002 and Minister for Small Business 1999-2005. She has been Minister for Information and Communication Technology since February 2002 and Minister for Consumer Affairs since January 2005.

Due to the Upper House reforms, her former electorate of Melbourne North Province was abolished. As a result of Bruce Mildenhall

Bruce Mildenhall

Bruce Allan Mildenhall was an Australian politician and a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the division of Footscray....

's retirement from politics, Thomson ran for and won Mildenhall's

Bruce Mildenhall

Bruce Allan Mildenhall was an Australian politician and a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the division of Footscray....

 electorate of Footscray

Electoral district of Footscray

The Electoral district of Footscray is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It lies just north of Melbourne and covers the suburbs of Footscray, Maribyrnong and Seddon....

 for the 2006 State Election. She was Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier and Parliamentary Secretary for the Arts until the 2010 state election.

Thomson was married to Federal Labor MP Kelvin Thomson

Kelvin Thomson

Kelvin John Thomson is an Australian politician. Since March 1996 Thomson has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Wills in Victoria.-Early life:...

and they have two children. They separated in 2003.