Joe Szakacs
MP
Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services
Assumed office
24 March 2022
PremierPeter Malinauskas
Preceded byVincent Tarzia
Member of the South Australian Parliament
for Cheltenham
Assumed office
9 February 2019
Preceded byJay Weatherill
Personal details
Born1982 (age 41–42)
NationalityAustralian
Political partyAustralian Labor Party (SA)
Alma materFlinders University
OccupationTrade union secretary
ProfessionLawyer

Joseph Karl Szakacs (/ˈsɒkɑːtʃ/ "SOCK-arch";[1] born 1982) is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He is a Labor Party member of the South Australian Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of Cheltenham since the 2019 Cheltenham by-election.

Szakacs has served as the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services in the Malinauskas ministry since March 2022.

Early life

Szakacs was born in Adelaide to a Hungarian father and Australian mother. He attended St Michael's College, Adelaide. In his teens, Szakacs was a competitive swimmer, holding the state 50m freestyle title and representing Australia at the 2002–03 FINA Swimming World Cup. He won swimming scholarships to the South Australian Institute of Sport and the University of Missouri, then returned to Australia to study law at Flinders University.[2]

Introduced to the trade union movement by his father, a waterside worker in Port Adelaide, Szakacs worked as a volunteer lawyer at the Young Workers Legal Service, then as an industrial officer with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and later the United Firefighters Union South Australia.[3] In October 2013, he was elected as state secretary of SA Unions.

Political career

Szakacs was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly in the by-election for the seat of Cheltenham on 9 February 2019, replacing former premier Jay Weatherill.[4]

After Labor won the 2022 state election, Szakacs was appointed as the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services in the Malinauskas ministry.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Szakacs, Joe (13 February 2022). "A few years back, I made a fun little video helper for the most common question I get: how do you pronounce Szakacs!? How have you been fairing? 😝". Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Young, fresh faces taking over South Australia's unions". The Advertiser. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  3. ↑ Green, Antony. "Cheltenham by-election". ABC Elections. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  4. ↑ Keane, Daniel (9 February 2019). "Labor claiming victory in Cheltenham and Enfield by-elections after resignations". ABC News. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  5. ↑ "Hon Joseph (Joe) Karl Szakacs". Members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
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