“I am an Australian citizen only and have never held or acquired or sought Greek or any other citizenship,” Assistant Immigration Minister Alex Hawke told News Corp Australia.
The Liberal MP is the latest to deny he has dual citizenship, saying he was born in Wollongong and has never held Greek citizenship through his mother, who moved to Australia in the 1950s.
Greek citizenship is automatically passed down if a person is born to a parent of Greek nationality, even if it wasn’t activated. However, dual citizens have to be ‘duly registered in the Records of a Municipality of the Hellenic Republic’.
Hawke has spoken in Parliament about his Greek heritage and how his family settled in Australia after World War II.
The assistant immigration manager is the third MP who has faced suggestions of dual Greek citizenship, after Liberal colleague Julia Banks and Industry Minister Arthur Sinodinos.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
