'Senator Aden Ridgeway was born on the Bellwood Aboriginal Reserve near Nambucca Heads in New South Wales and was educated at Bellwood and St John's College, Woodlawn in Lismore. After leaving high school in Year 11 and working for a while as a boilermaker, he spent 14 years in the New South Wales Public Service working his way from park ranger though policy positions to management. During this time he also served on the Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) Regional Council for its first two terms.
For five years, he was Executive Director of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council and responsible for its head office, regional offices and the one hundred and eighteen local Aboriginal Land Councils throughout the State. During this time he was responsible for implementing broad-based structural and management reforms. He was a member of both Indigenous Native Title negotiating teams following the Mabo and Wik decisions and was a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation for its last two years.
Aden joined the Australian Democrats in 1990 attracted by their stance on Indigenous issues, the environment and education and membership involvement in the party structure. He was elected as a Democrat Senator for New South Wales in October 1998. In July 1999, he became only the second Indigenous person to take a seat in the Australian Parliament. He was Australian Democrats' Deputy Leader from April 2001 til October 2002 His portfolio areas have included Arts and Sport, Consumer Affairs, Forestry, Indigenous Affairs, Industry, Small Business and Tourism and Trade and Overseas Development.
Aden has been Chairman of Bangarra Aboriginal Dance Company and a board member of the Tikkun Australia Foundation, the Lumbu Indigenous Community Foundation and a trustee of the Charlie Perkins Children's Trust.'
(Source: www.democrats.org.au and http://nla.gov.au/nla.arc-44397 (Sighted 04/06/07).)
