Andrew Wilkie
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Andrew Wilkie MP |
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Andrew Wilkie speaking at anti-pulp mill rally in 2007
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| Member of the Australian Parliament for Denison |
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Assumed office 21 August 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Duncan Kerr |
| Majority | 15.6% |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Andrew Damien Wilkie 8 November 1961 Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party |
Liberal (early 1980s) Greens (2003-08) Independent (2008-) |
| Residence | Hobart, Tasmania |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Soldier, intelligence officer |
| Website | www |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1980–2000 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | Australian Army Intelligence Corps |
Andrew Damien Wilkie (born 8 November 1961, Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian politician and independent federal member for Denison. He has been an army officer and an intelligence analyst.
In 2003 Wilkie resigned from his position in Australia's Office of National Assessments intelligence agency in the lead up to the Iraq War, because he said he feared the humanitarian consequences of invasion such as Saddam using his Weapons of Mass Destruction, or assisting terrorists. Following his resignation he said: Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction program is very disjointed and contained by the regime that's been in place since the last Gulf War. And there is no hard intelligence linking the Iraqi regime to al-Qaeda in any substantial or worrisome way." He opposed Australia's contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq under the Howard government and ran for Parliament against John Howard as a Green's Candidate in 2004. Wilkie later argued the Iraq War was based on a "lie".
Since 2003 he has been active in Australian politics. He was a Greens candidate for the federal Division of Bennelong in the 2004 federal election and for the Senate in Tasmania at the 2007 federal election. In 2010 he stood as an independent candidate for the state seat of Denison at the Tasmanian state election, narrowly missing out on the final vacancy. Later in the year, again as an independent candidate, he ran for the federal seat of Denison at the 2010 federal election and won, finishing third on the primary vote but winning the seat after the distribution of preferences. Wilkie finished first on the primary vote at the 2013 federal election and increased his margin.
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