Keith Wolahan

Keith Wolahan (born 30 September 1977) is an Australian former politician and member of the Victorian Bar. He represented the seat of Menzies in the House of Representatives for the Liberal Party from 2022 to 2025.

Early life

Family background Wolahan was born in Dublin, Ireland, He was educated at Ringwood Secondary College.

Wolahan began his career in law with the national firm, Mallesons Stephen Jacques where he specialised in mergers and acquisitions.

In 2013, Wolahan graduated from University of Cambridge with a master's degree in International Relations. Wolahan was promoted to Captain in 2004 and saw several periods of active service, including four postings overseas with 2 Commando:

East Timor 2007 for six months as the Special Operations Liaison Officer for the Apprehension Task Group during the Battle of Same. Afghanistan 2014 embedded as the Deputy Chief of Operations with a United States Special Operations Command task force based in Bagram.

Wolahan lost two friends in the War in Afghanistan: Marcus Case and Greg Sher. He joined two other Afghanistan veterans in the 47th Parliament of Australia: Andrew Hastie and Phillip Thompson. Andrews entered the contest with written endorsements from then Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. It was the first time a sitting Victorian Liberal MP had been ousted by their members in more than 20 years.

2022 election

The 2022 federal election saw a 6% swing against the Liberals in Menzies. One of the contributing factors was a large swing in suburbs with higher proportions of Chinese ancestry, including Box Hill and Doncaster. He also served as the Deputy Chair of The Joint Select Committee on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum.

2025 election Following a redistribution that shifted Menzies’ margin from a 50.7% Liberal seat to a notionally 50.4% Labor seat, the 2025 federal election delivered a -0.62% two-party preferred swing to Labor in Menzies, resulting in Labor gaining the seat with just over 51% of the two-party preferred vote. He was defeated by Gabriel Ng of the Labor Party.

Personal life Wolahan married Sarah Weinberg at Heide Museum of Modern Art in Bulleen. They have two children, Leo and Eva.

Honours and awards

50px Commendation for Distinguished Service Awarded in 2011 Australia Day Honours for service in Afghanistan. 50px