Andrea Coote

Who is Andrea Coote?

Andrea Coote is an Australian politician. She has been a Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Council since September 1999, representing Monash Province until the 2006 election and the Southern Metropolitan Region since.

Coote was born in Melbourne, and studied at Fintona Girls' School and the University of Melbourne. Before being elected to parliament, she worked in a number of business and executive positions, which included stints as Executive Director of the State Library Foundation and Director of Development at Geelong Grammar School. In the early 1990s, she also worked as a staff officer to Member of the Legislative Assembly Michael John, and later as a ministerial adviser.

Coote succeeded in winning Liberal pre-selection for the safe Liberal-held seat of Monash Province in the leadup to the 1999 election, and was ultimately elected. Jeff Kennett's Liberal government, however, had suffered a surprise defeat, so Coote found herself in opposition. Despite this, due to the way the Legislative Council is elected, the Liberal Party still had control of the upper house, giving them significant power to reject legislation introduced by the new Labor government.