Nick Xenophon

Nick Xenophon

Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon (born 29 January 1959) is an independent Senator for South Australia. Xenophon was born in Adelaide, South Australia, to Greek and Greek Cypriot migrants. He attended Prince Alfred College and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co. in 1984. Between 1994 and 1997 he served as president of the South Australian branch of the Australian Plaintiff Lawyers' Association.

No Pokies, the name of his independent ticket in the South Australian Legislative Council, garnered 2.9 percent of the statewide vote at the 1997 state election electing himself on preferences, and 20.5 percent at the 2006 election (or 2.5 quotas), which was unexpected by political commentators. He was elected to the Australian Senate at the 2007 federal election, receiving 14.8 percent. This was still over one full Senate quota, gaining election without the need for preferences. Xenophon shared the balance of power with the Greens and Family First during the 2008–11 Senate parliamentary session, with the Greens holding the sole balance of power since July 2011. Whilst his original 1997 platform centred on anti-pokies, he has since become an advocate in many other areas. Xenophon has been reported in the media as "left-of-centre", while Hansard reveals that Xenophon and the Greens have found common ground on a number of issues.