Phillip Ruddock

Phillip Maxwell Ruddock (born March 12, 1943), Australian politician, is Attorney-General in the Coalition Government of Australian Prime Minister John Howard. A member of the Liberal Party of Australia, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives in September 1973. He is now the longest-serving member of the House. From 1996 to 2003 he was Minister for Immigration, and led the Howard Government's hard-line response to the asylum seekers issue in 2001 (see MS Tampa).