Michael Atkinson (politician)

The Honourable Michael Atkinson
34th Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly
In office 5 February 2013 (2013-02-05) – 16 March 2018 (2018-03-16)
Premier	Jay Weatherill
Preceded by	Lyn Breuer
Succeeded by	Vincent Tarzia
46th Attorney-General of South Australia
In office 5 March 2002 – 30 June 2003
Premier	Mike Rann
Preceded by	Robert Lawson
Succeeded by	Paul Holloway
In office 29 August 2003 – 21 March 2010
Premier	Mike Rann
Preceded by	Paul Holloway
Succeeded by	John Rau
Member of the South Australian Parliament for Croydon
In office 9 February 2002 – 17 March 2018
Preceded by	New District
Succeeded by	Peter Malinauskas
Member of the South Australian Parliament for Spence
In office 25 November 1989 – 9 February 2002
Preceded by	Roy Abbott
Succeeded by	District Abolished
Personal details
Born	Michael John Atkinson (1958-06-17) 17 June 1958 (age 66)[1]
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party (SA)
Domestic partner	Jennifer Rankine
Education	BA (Hons), LLB
Profession	Journalist

Michael John Atkinson (born 17 June 1958), a former Australian politician in the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, was a member of the Parliament of South Australia from 1989 to 2018.^[2]

Atkinson was the 34th Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly in the Jay Weatherill government from 2013 to 2018. Before this post, he was the 46th Attorney-General of South Australia, Minister for Justice, Minister for Veterans' Affairs, and Minister for Multicultural Affairs in the Mike Rann Labor Government. A day after the 2010 election, he stepped down as Attorney-General and resigned from the Cabinet. Atkinson represented the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Croydon from the seat's creation in 2002 until 2018, and previously Spence from 1989 until the seat was abolished and replaced by Croydon in 2002.^[3][4]

He was a member of the Australian Journalists Association whilst working for the Adelaide Advertiser. He is currently a member of the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association.