Petro Georgiou was elected the Member for Kooyong at a by-election in 1994.
He was born in 1947 on the island of Corfu, Greece, and immigrated to Australia with his family at the age of four.
Educated at Melbourne Boys' High School, he went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree at the University of Melbourne, graduating with first-class honours in political science. Petro then tutored in politics at La Trobe University, and undertook postgraduate study at the University of Melbourne.
Petro Georgiou worked as Senior Adviser to then Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, where he helped establish SBS – Australia's multicultural and multilingual public broadcaster. His interest in multiculturalism and immigration policy saw him become Secretary of the Ethnic Television Review Panel, and then Director of the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs.
Following these roles, Petro worked as Senior Adviser to the then Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Peacock, and as Director of the Liberal Policy Unit. As State Director of the Victorian Division of the Liberal Party from 1989 to 1994, he successfully oversaw the election of the Kennett government.
Petro's parliamentary career has seen him occupy positions within several Committees, including the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade; the Joint Standing Committee on Migration; and the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, of which he was Chair from 2002 - 2004.
His current Committee memberships comprise the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Parliamentary library; and Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Science and Innovation, a position which he has held since 2004.