Zoë Parker

Zoë Louisa French Parker (b. 1959) is a Georgeland politician. She is presently the Deputy Prime Minister of Georgeland and a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party of the United Islands.

Early Life
Parker was born Zoë French in Cosgrove Hill, a small town in what is now East Mainland, in 1959. One of three children, Parker had a somewhat harrowing childhood. Her father, a grazier, went bankrupt in 1967 and subsequently began drinking heavily, and Parker and her mother were abused. Parker's father died when she was 14 and Parker began to help contribute to the family's income. Her mother, Sally, ran a shop in Cosgrove Hill. From her early teens, Parker was a member of what was then called the Shop Stewards Union (now the Retail Alliance) which naturally led her towards the Labour Party. Parker attended the University of Doubledance where she studied Political Science, and while there gained a reputation as, in her own words, a 'party girl'. Parker has admitted that during that period in her life, she openly 'experimented' with a variety of drugs, that she drank too much and that she was sexually promiscuous. Parker has also declared she has not engaged in illegal drug use since leaving university.

In Politics
After her return to Cosgrove Hill, Parker took care of her ailing grandmother and mother, and began working full-time in a shop in order to pay off her student loans - during this time she also became a very active union organiser. In 1984, at the age of 25, Parker was elected to the Cosgrove Hill town council, where she found herself at odds with the Conservative administration. In 1985, Parker and a group of non-Tory councillors led an investigation into the mayor's financial dealings and corruption - when they announced their results the mayor was impeached by the town council. Parker ran for deputy mayor, but lost narrowly. She remained on the council until 1990. At the 1990 Mainland state election, Parker was elected to the seat of Cosgrove Hill for the Labour Party. Parker gained a reputation as a firey speaker and a skilled debater during her time in the state legislature, as well as her reputation for being a political head-kicker. In 1993 she became the party's chief whip in the legislature, the first woman to hold that post. In 1997, Parker was selected as the new candidate for the federal seat of Peterson, after the previous MP, Conservative Doug Lewis, retired. Parker defeated Lewis's son, Adrian, by a comfortable margin. She has since been re-elected five times, increasing her margin of victory each time. Peterson is now a rock-solid safe LDP seat. Immediately after her election to the House of Commons, Parker was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. This surprise many, as Parker had no federal parliamentary experience. However, it was understood at the time that the Prime Minister, Campbell Rhodes, wanted a 'fresh face' and a person without any baggage. Parker became somewhat of a Rhodes enforcer, and over the next two years she was successful in helping the government put down rebellions in its own ranks over union reform and tax hikes. As a reward, in 1999 Parker was promoted and became Minister for Science and Technology, a junior education minister. Though not in cabinet, the promotion was a big step for Parker, and she used the opportunity to promote public education, something she has been a strong advocate for for many years. Shortly after she became a minister, the Labour split occurred when Rhodes opponents staged a party room coup. Parker was one of the 60 MPs who walked out of the party and joined Rhodes in the Liberal Party. After the election, which saw Rhodes return in coalition with the Democrats, Parker began to be seen as the party's 'rising star'. In the 2000 reshuffle following Rhodes' resignation and the ascention of Michael Elderton to the leadership, Parker was chosen to fill Elderton's role at the Education department. The opportunity gave Parker a chance to espouse her belief in public education, and as a cabinet minister she had significant influence. Around this time, Parker began her aggressive parliamentary style for which she is still noted. In April 2001, when Rhodes was moved from the Treasury to Foreign Affairs, Parker became a supporter of his return to the leadership. In August, when he challenged for the leadership and defeated Elderton, Parker was elected Deputy Leader over incumbent Christine Hinkle.

Foreign Minister
The post-challenge reshuffle moved Parker into Foreign Affairs, a post she remained in for nearly four years. As Foreign Minister, Parker became a somewhat maverick figure on the international stage. A strong opponent of the Bush administration, Parker was snubbed by Washington when U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell refused to visit Georgeland after his Australia visit. Powell and Parker later had several meetings, however. Parker's greatest challenge as Foreign Minister came when the U.S., France, Saydney and the U.K. expressed open opposition to the government's plan to make Georgeland a nuclear-free zone. Parker is said to have argued strongly against the proposal in Cabinet, even threatening to resign, but nevertheless she supported the proposal in public. Parker's style of negotiation became noted internationally for its aggressive, almost stubborn characteristics. For this reason, a number of countries, notably India, became wary of negotiating with Parker. She later toned down her behaviour in the interests of co-operation. In one highly-publicised incident in 2003, an intoxicated Parker called her Saydneyan counterpart, Miranda Eaton a 'bitch' during Norman peace talks. She later publicly apologised and again offered her resignation to the Prime Minister, who refused. The Opposition initially demanded she be sacked but later back-flipped, and Opposition Leader Sam Richardson reversed the calls, saying "we all make mistakes". To date, Richardson has offered no explanation for the about-face on Parker, and the incident has rarely been referred to again by the Tories.

Deputy Prime Minister
In 2004, Parker became Deputy Prime Minister. The LDP had been created with the merger of the Liberals and Democrats several months earlier. Deputy PM Warren Barker resigned in July and Parker was elected unopposed to replace him. She remained as Foreign Minister. Parker was now solidly entrenched as the PM-in-waiting, and made every effort to be seen in a more sympathetic light by the electorate. In 2004 she was one of several prominent politicians who took part in the Political All Stars Christmas CD, recording Fleetwood Mac's Seven Wonders with Tory Senator Bill Allen. In early 2005 she appeared on the interview program Kellerman and talked candidly about her life, including her wild past. After the 2005 election, Parker was placed in charge of the new Department of the Deputy Prime Minister, with responsibility for local government, federal-state relations, constitutional affairs, territories and acting as the government's senior domestic policy spokesman. The move was widely seen as an attempt by the PM to groom Parker as his successor. As well as the new department, Parker became for the second time Leader of the House of Commons.

Leadership bid
Following Rhodes' announcement of his retirement in July 2005, Parker was the first candidate to declare her interest in the leadership. During the first round of voting, conducted in the party room, Parker recieved 63 votes out of 180, with her rival and predecessor Andrea Perkins scoring 70. The result was lower than expected, but her second-place finish means she and Perkins will be the two choices available to LDP membership when they vote on the leader throughout late July. If elected, Parker will become Georgeland's first woman Prime Minister.

Political views
Parker is somewhat to the right of Rhodes, but this is primarily from an economic standpoint. Parker favours, in general, deregulation and privatisation of industry and repealing some of the harsher taxes on investment. Socially, Parker is fairly progressive. She strongly supported the decision to legalise same-sex marriage in Georgeland. She opposes any legalisation of marijuana, however, though she supports harm-reduction techniques for all drug users and emphasis on rehabilitation. She is also not as adamantly pro-choice as many LDP colleagues. She believes in a woman's right to choose but also believes abortions are too common and damaging. Parker is a non-denominational Christian, although she describes her views as 'very lapsing Protestant'. In the Kellerman interview, when asked if her religion was at odds with her stance on same-sex marriage, she said:
 * "I don't believe God cares about whether or not people are gay. I think if you live a good life and you do good deeds and you're charitable and do no harm I think God just says `good luck to you'. I don't see homosexuality as wrong at all, and I don't think God would either."

Personal life
Parker married Michael Benedict Parker in 1994, changing her name from French to Parker in the process. The marriage ended in divorce in 2003, after a two-year separation. Michael Parker, a Catholic, was opposed to any divorce which made the process long and drawn-out. The Parkers have joint custody of their daughter, Pamela (b. 2000). Since her divorce, Parker has not been linked publicly with anybody. If she becomes Prime Minister, she will be the second to be unmarried at the time of her election and the first divorcee.

Trivia

 * Parker is an avid tennis player and in 2002 competed in a charity match against Georgeland tennis champion Nick Kalter. Kalter defeated her 6-1, 6-2, 6-1.
 * Parker is also a big fan of the TV program The West Wing. On her 2003 visit to the United States she visited the set and appeared on the show as an extra. She also obtained an autographed cast photo which hangs on her office wall.