Andrea Michaels: The Migrant Kid Who Became a Minister

Before Andrea Michaels held three state government portfolios, she was born to parents who fled Cyprus in 1974 with nothing and landed in Adelaide because it was as far from home as they could get. She grew up sandpapering cabinet doors in her dad's backyard workshop while her mum worked factory shifts, and that work ethic carried her through commercial law, a solo leap into her own firm as a single mum, and eventually into South Australia's state government as Minister for Small and Family Business, the Arts, and Consumer and Business Affairs. She sat down with Sav Perera in September 2025, while still in office. The conversation covers the real cost of public criticism, the barriers women still hit trying to raise capital, and the self talk, "tough it up, princess," that gets her through the hard days. A grounded, honest one for anyone building something of their own.