Cesar Melhem (Arabic: سيزار ملحم; born 4 January 1965) is a former State Secretary of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Workers' Union (AWU), and a former Member for Western Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council, Parliament of Victoria, between 2013 and 2022.
[1] Completing a Diploma of Electronics in 1986, he worked as a process operator before being elected as a union organiser for the Federated Ironworkers Association of Australia (FIA).
During his time as State Secretary, Cesar led a campaign to secure the entitlements of AJAX members when the car component company was placed in the hands of administrators.
[2] Cesar further fronted negotiations with Alcoa executives in Pittsburgh USA, successfully making the case for the Point Henry Smelter to stay open, to re-organise and provide an ongoing source of employment for the Geelong region in the face of an international review by the company that threatened to close it down.
[3] On 6 May 2013 Melhem announced he was resigning as AWU state secretary after 7 years, to enter the Victorian Legislative Council as the member for Western Metropolitan Region, succeeding Shadow Attorney General Martin Pakula, who resigned to contest the Legislative Assembly seat of Lyndhurst.