Premier Peter Beattie Succeeded by Seat abolished Spouse Michael Lavarch Preceded by Margaret Woodgate Role Australian Politician | Succeeded by Kerry Shine Name Linda Lavarch Preceded by Rod Welford Nationality Australian Party Australian Labor Party | |
 | ||
Born 27 November 1958 (age 65)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia ( 1958-11-27 ) Education Queensland University of Technology | ||
IWD 2013 - Linda Lavarch, Third Affirmative Speaker
Linda Denise Lavarch (born 27 November 1958 in Brisbane) is an Australian politician and solicitor. She was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1997 to 2009, representing the district of Kurwongbah.
Lavarch was first elected to the seat of Kurwongbah, situated in Brisbane's northern suburbs, in a by-election on 24 May 1997. On 28 July 2005, Lavarch was appointed Queensland's Attorney-General and Minister for Justice—the first woman Attorney-General in Queensland. Prior to being appointed Attorney-General, she held the position of parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Energy and Aboriginal and Minister for Torres Strait Islander Policy, John Mickel.
Lavarch pursued an active reform agenda as Attorney-General particularly focusing on community justice initiatives and the treatment of vulnerable people in the criminal justice system. She retired at the 2009 state election.
Lavarch currently chairs the Australian government's Not-For-Profit Sector Reform Council which provides advice to government on not-for-profit sector issues.
She was formerly married to Michael Lavarch, who had served as an Attorney-General at the federal level from 1993 to 1996.
On 27 April 2016, Lavarch was announced as the Labor candidate for the federal seat of Dickson at the 2016 election, running against Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton. Her former husband, Michael, previously represented Dickson from 1993 to 1996.