Jim Chalmers
James Edward Chalmers (born 2 March 1978) is an Australian politician. He has been Treasurer of Australia in the Albanese government since May 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served as a member of parliament for the division of Rankin since 2013.
For other people named Jim Chalmers, see Jim Chalmers (disambiguation).
Jim Chalmers
Anthony Albanese
Bill Shorten
2 March 1978
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
3
Chalmers was born in Brisbane and attended the Australian National University, where he completed a doctorate in political science. At the 2013 Australian federal election, Chalmers won the seat of Rankin in Brisbane's south, entering the House of Representatives. He served in the shadow ministries of Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese, before assuming the role of Treasurer after Labor's victory in the 2022 federal election.
Early life and education[edit]
Chalmers was born in Brisbane,[1] the youngest of three children born to Graham and Carol Chalmers. His father worked as a courier and his mother worked as a nurse. They divorced when he was 14, by which time his older sisters had left home.[2]
Chalmers grew up in Logan City in Brisbane's south.[3] He attended Catholic schools before going on to Griffith University, where he completed the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Communication and attained a First Class honours degree in public policy.[4] He went on to complete a PhD in political science at the Australian National University, writing his doctoral thesis on the prime ministership of Paul Keating,[1][2] titled "Brawler statesman: Paul Keating and prime ministerial leadership in Australia".[5]
Early political involvement[edit]
From 1999 to 2001, Chalmers worked under Queensland premier Peter Beattie as a research officer in the Department of Premier and Cabinet. He was the ALP's national research manager from 2002 to 2004, media adviser to Shadow Treasurer Wayne Swan from 2005 to 2006, deputy chief of staff to Opposition Leader Kim Beazley in 2006, and a senior adviser to New South Wales premier Morris Iemma from 2006 to 2007. After Labor won the 2007 federal election, Chalmers returned to work for Wayne Swan in the Department of the Treasury, as deputy chief of staff and principal adviser (2007–2010) and then as chief of staff (2010–2013).[1] He briefly served as the executive director of the Chifley Research Centre in 2013.[6] In the same year he published Glory Daze, a book about the disconnect between Australia's strong economic performance and popular discontent with government.[7]
Personal life[edit]
In March 2013, Chalmers married Laura Anderson, a journalist and writer who worked as a staffer to Penny Wong and Julia Gillard. The couple have three children. Their wedding, attended by Gillard and Wayne Swan among others, occurred two days after an ALP leadership spill. While in attendance Gillard "convened a council of war in a specially set-aside room to frame a new ministry".[2]
Chalmers identifies as a Catholic, though more "tribal than Bible", his three children having been baptised in the same church as himself.[33][34] His interests have been listed to include running, rugby league and basketball.[35] He is a fan of hip-hop music, with some of his favourite artists including Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas.[36]
In the National Rugby League (NRL), Chalmers supports the Brisbane Broncos.[37]
