Tony Abbott

was elected to the Federal Parliament of Australia as member for Warringah in March 1994.

Prior to that he had been, in turn, Executive Director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, Press secretary to the Leader of the Federal Opposition, leader writer with The Australian and feature writer with the Bulletin. Along the way he had a stint managing a Pioneer batching plant for 12 months.

He studied economics and law at Sydney University (where he was President of the Student's Representative Council and played first grade rugby), politics and philosophy at Oxford University (which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar and where he won two blues in heavyweight boxing) and theology at St. Patrick's Seminary (where he was for two years a candidate for the priesthood).

A regular contributor to the press and the author of The Minimal Monarchy - and why it still makes sense for Australia, he is 38, married to Margaret and has three daughters.