Michael Kroger

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Michael Norman Kroger is a businessman and a powerbroker within the Victorian division of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Kroger became politically active while studying at Monash University. While president of the campus Liberal Club, Kroger is largely credited with the creation of the still-thriving Sir Robert Menzies Lecture. With his close friend Peter Costello he forged an alliance with moderate Australian Labor Party politicians in an effort to defeat far left-wing forces within the Australian Union of Students. He became President of the Australian Liberal Students' Federation in 1978.

After graduating his association with Costello continued. Working as a solicitor he assisted Costello in winning the famous 1985 Dollar Sweets case. ^[1]

In 1987 and at the age of 30, Kroger was elected as the President of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party of Australia. He instituted a series of reforms, the most important was his move to increase the power of the party executive in preselections. While this led to several preselection challenges in 1988 and 1989 (most notably Costello's successful challenge against Roger Shipton in Higgins) it has also helped in the election of several young Victorian federal parliamentarians who are widely considered to have bright futures, although this pattern has not been replicated at state level. ^[2]

Kroger himself has often turned down opportunities to run in blue ribbon Liberal seats, notably such as Kooyong in 1994 and in Goldstein in 2004, preferring to concentrate on family and business interests. ^[3]

Since the 1990s the Victorian division of the Liberal Party has been factionalized between Kroger's supporters and those of Jeff Kennett. This has led to some bruising preselections, such as Kennett backed Louise Asher defeating the Kroger backed Mitch Fifield in Brighton in 1999. ^[4] However both backed Petro Georgiou when he was challenged for his preselection by Josh Frydenberg in 2006. ^[5]

In 1993 Kroger established an investment company, JT Campbell & Co in and currently serves as chairman. Kroger has also spent five years (1998 to 2003) as a director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

His former wife Helen Kroger was elected to the Senate for Victoria at the 2007 Federal Election after being preselected in the safe second position on the Liberal ticket, along with the aforementioned Mitch Fifield and number three candidate Scott Ryan. Despite their divorce, Michael and Helen remain close friends and are considered to be political allies.