Electoral history
Federal
| Election year | Electorate | Party | Votes | FP% | 2PP% | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Mayo | Liberal | 33,219 | 37.44% |  0.32 | 42.47% | 2.56 | Second | |
| 2019 | 42,426 | 37.65% |  1.03 | 44.86% | 2.22 | Second | |||
Georgina Downer | |
|---|---|
| Born | Georgina Mary Beatrice Downer [1] 29 September 1979 Brussels |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Known for | Member of the Downer family, political candidate |
| Spouse | Will Heath |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
Georgina Mary Beatrice Downer (born 29 September 1979 in Brussels, Belgium) [2] is an Australian political figure and Director of the Robert Menzies Institute. She has unsuccessfully contested several elections, and is a lawyer and former diplomat. [3] [4] [5] [6]
Downer was born in Brussels in 1979 to Nicky and Alexander Downer. Her father, later leader of the opposition, was based in Belgium as a diplomat. Nicky had been a journalist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). [7] [8] She is a member of the Downer political family, with several family members active in political life. [9]
After graduating from Seymour College in 1997, Downer moved from Adelaide to study law at the University of Melbourne. [10] [11] In 2005, Downer won a Chevening Scholarship to study at the London School of Economics, where she graduated with a master's degree. [12] [13] [14] [15]
Downer joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as a graduate trainee in 2007, later spending four years in Japan. Working at the Australian Embassy, she reached the position of second secretary. [14] [11] [16]
In 2015, Downer was linked in the media to the Senate seat vacated by Michael Ronaldson; and as a possible replacement for Kevin Andrews in the seat of Menzies. In 2016, she was mooted as a possible replacement for Bruce Billson in the seat of Dunkley. [17] [18] [19]
Downer contested the Liberal pre-selection for the seat of Goldstein in 2016, but was defeated by Tim Wilson. [20] [21] [22]
She was the endorsed Liberal candidate for the seat of Mayo in the Australian House of Representatives in the 2018 by-election and in the 2019 general election, but both times was unsuccessful. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] Her promotion of the funding of a sports grant while a candidate, instead of the current member for the seat, Rebekha Sharkie, was a key initiating factor in the public coverage of the sports rorts affair of 2020. [29] [30] Downer returned to Melbourne shortly after her 2019 defeat.
Downer married Will Heath, a lawyer with King & Wood Mallesons, in 2009. The couple had met at university in 2000. They have two children. [28] [31] [32]
| Election year | Electorate | Party | Votes | FP% | 2PP% | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Mayo | Liberal | 33,219 | 37.44% | 0.32 | 42.47% | 2.56 | Second | |
| 2019 | 42,426 | 37.65% | 1.03 | 44.86% | 2.22 | Second | |||
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