Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong To Marry Partner Sophie Allouache
Image: Senator Penny Wong with her Sophie Allouache at the Sydney WorldPride March in 2023. Image: Facebook
Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong is set to marry her long time partner Sophie Allouache.
The Australian reported that invitations to the wedding had been sent out and Senator Wong’s office had refused to confirm or deny the news about the wedding. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Health Minister Mark Butler and SA Premier Jay Weatherill are expected to attend the wedding, reports said
Wong met Allouache in 2006 and the couple have two children together. The wedding comes five years after Australia voted for marriage equality in a national referendum.
Coming Out
“I’ve never sought to be a role model, but I have come to understand that you can’t be what you can’t see,” Wong told Star Observer in an interview in 2022, ahead of the federal elections.
Wong came out as a lesbian in 2002 a month after she took her seat in the Senate. In her two decades in Parliament, Wong has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQI rights and was one of the lead campaigners during the marriage equality vote.
In a power speech in Parliament, Wong called out the Australian Christian Lobby for referring to children of same-sex parents as “stolen generation”
“We love our children. And I object, as do every person who cares about children, and as do all those couples in this country, same-sex couples who have kids, to be told our children are a stolen generation. You talk about unifying moments? It is not a unifying moment. It is exposing our children to that kind of hatred.”
Wong’s emotional response to the results of the marriage equality vote was one of the defining moments of the campaign.
“To all Australians thank you for standing up for fairness and equality. To my colleagues and all those who fought for this great outcome, thank you,” Wong posted on X (formerly Twitter).
