Natasha Stott Despoja

Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja (born 9 September 1969) is an Australian diplomat, gender equality advocate, former Australian of the Year nominee, and former politician. Starting her career in student politics, she became an advisor to the Australian Democrats and was appointed to the Australian Senate in 1995 at the age of 26. At the time, she was the youngest woman to serve in Federal Parliament. She went on to become deputy leader of the Democrats in 1997 and then federal leader from 2001 to 2002. She retired from the Senate in 2008 as the longest-serving senator from her party.