Mark Dreyfus

Early life and education

Dreyfus was born in Perth, Western Australia, the son of George Dreyfus, a noted composer who came to Australia from Nazi Germany. Dreyfus was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne and the University of Melbourne where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws.

Prior to entering Parliament, Dreyfus worked as a barrister for some twenty years, with an extensive practice in commercial, defamation, constitutional and environmental law. In 1999 he was appointed Queen’s Counsel.

Dreyfus also served as a director of the Law Council of Australia, and on the Victorian Bar Council and Victorian Bar Ethics Committee.

Throughout both his legal and political careers, Mark has been an advocate for social justice, and for creating a sustainable environment for future generations.

Since his first professional role as a Field Officer for the Northern Land Council, Dreyfus has worked closely with Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, including representing a number of the claimants in the landmark Stolen Generations litigation.

Parliamentary career

In March 2006, Dreyfus successfully challenged the sitting Labor member for Isaacs, Ann Corcoran, for the right to contest the 2007 election. At the 2007 election, he defeated the Liberal candidate, Ross Fox, gaining a 5.9 per cent swing to Labor.

Following Labor's victory at the 2007 federal election, Dreyfus was appointed chairman of the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. At the 2010 election, Dreyfus was re-elected, gaining a further 3.33 per cent swing to Labor.

In September 2010, Dreyfus was appointed as Cabinet Secretary as well as Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency in the Second Gillard Ministry. Dreyfus took on additional responsibilities in December 2011 when he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation.

Attorney-General

On 2 February 2013, Dreyfus was promoted to Attorney-General and as Minister for Emergency Management after the resignation of Nicola Roxon. Dreyfus was given additional responsibilities on 1 July 2013 as Special Minister of State and Minister for the Public Service and Integrity following the decision by Gary Gray to resign from the ministry following the June 2013 Labor leadership spill.

As Attorney-General, Dreyfus appeared before the International Court of Justice in The Hague as Counsel and Advocate for Australia in the case of Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v Japan; New Zealand intervening) in June and July 2013. On 1 April 2014, the International Court of Justice handed down its decision in favour of Australia that Japan cease whaling in the Southern Ocean.

Personal life

Dreyfus lives with his wife Chilean-born Deborah (née Chemke) — with whom he has three children, Joe, Tom and Laura — in Malvern.

Dreyfus speaks fluent Spanish and has stated that, had he not become a lawyer, he would have liked to become a park ranger in the Alpine National Park.