Carol Brown (politician)

Carol Louise Brown (born 19 July 1963), an Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Tasmania since 25 August 2005.

Brown comes from a family with a long Labor tradition. Her great-grandmother Mary Butler was a founding member of the Hobart branch of the ALP, her grandfathers and father were strong trade unionists, her late uncle Leo Brown was a Tasmanian state ALP president, and her niece Allison Ritchie was a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council.

Brown was an administrative Officer with the Tasmanian ALP from 1984 to 1996, an advisor to Senator Mackay 1996 to 1998, and a senior public servant in the Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet from 1998 to 2002. In 2004 she was appointed to the Office of the Minister for Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.

Brown, a member of Labor's left faction, was appointed to the Senate by the Tasmanian Parliament due to the casual vacancy created by the resignation of Senator Sue Mackay.