Bob Brown was elected to the Senate in 1996, after 10 years as a Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) in Tasmania's state parliament.
In 2001, Bob was re-elected to the Senate. He became the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens in 2005 following the election of four Greens senators the year prior.
The 2007 election saw Bob re-elected to the Senate for a third term along with two new Greens senators in WA and SA. Bob received the highest personal Senate vote in Tasmania and was elected with more than a quota in his own right.
In 2010 Bob led the Australian Greens to a historic result with more than 1.6 million Australians voting for the Greens and the election of nine senators and one member of the House of Representatives. As a result of this election, the Greens gained balance of power in the Senate and signed an agreement with the ALP, which allowed then-prime minister Julia Gillard to form government. A key part of this agreement was the Greens requirement that a price on carbon be introduced, which led to legislation being passed at the end of 2011.
In April 2012 Bob stepped down as leader of the Australian Greens, and retired from the Senate in June 2012.
