Andrew Robb’s connection to Parade College commenced in 1964 at East Melbourne and concluded with his matriculation at the Bundoora campus in its first year, 1968. On leaving school, Andrew attended Dookie Agricultural College and La Trobe University where he qualified in Agricultural Science and an Honours degree in Economics. This led to a varied career as an Agricultural Economist with the Victorian Department of Agriculture, Executive Director of the Cattle Council of Australia, and Executive Director of the National Farmers’ Federation.

Andrew’s career then transitioned to the political sphere where he was appointed Federal Deputy Director and Director of the Liberal Party, Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Opposition, the late Andrew Peacock AC GCL, Federal Campaign Director in the winning 1996 election, and member of the NSW Liberal State Executive.

Andrew was elected in 2004 to the Federal Parliament seat of Goldstein in Victoria which began an extensive parliamentary career including a range of ministerial and shadow ministerial positions. Following the coalition victory at the 2013 election, Andrew was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister for Trade and Investment. He negotiated Free Trade Agreements with our largest trading partner, China, as well as South Korea and Japan.

After retiring from politics in 2016, among other roles, Andrew has served on the Board of Mind Medicine Australia since 2020. This followed Andrew’s disclosure in 2009 of a lifelong battle with depression prompting him to write ‘Black Dog Daze: Public Life, Private Demons’, a tome on the challenges brought on by depression. Today Andrew is Chairman of The Robb Group, a corporate and investment advisory company.

Peer Year | 1968
Inducted | 2023