Mr Stephen Smith was sworn in as Minister for Defence on September 2010.
Prior to that, Mr Smith was Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has been the Federal Member for Perth since March 1993.
Before his appointment as a Foreign Minister from 1996 to 2007, he held a range of Shadow Ministerial positions including a Shadow Minister for Trade, Shadow Minister for Resources and Energy, Shadow Minister for Communications, Shadow Minister for Health, Shadow Minister for Immigration, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations, and a Shadow Minister for Education and Training.
He completed his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at The University of Western Australia.