Anthony Albanese has spoken candidly about his background, and how he discovered his father was alive after believing for many years that he died in a car accident.

The member for Grayndler was announced as the new federal Labor Party leader on Monday, following Bill Shorten’s demise.

He tells Alan Jones he came from humble beginnings, born to a single mother who didn’t tell him the truth about his father until he was a teenager.

Having always believed his father died in a car accident before he was born, Mr Albanese was surprised to find out he was very much alive.

His mother confessed she had a brief relationship with him on a European cruise, but discovered when she fell pregnant that he was already engaged to another woman in Italy.

“So she came back and very bravely had me by herself,” says Mr Albanese. “A very brave thing to do in 1963, as a Catholic woman, to have a child out of wedlock.

“I guess it says something about the pressure that was put on young women that she told me and told the world that she had married him overseas, that he’d died in a car accident before I was born.”

Mr Albanese tells Alan his success in politics “says something great about Australia”.

“That someone with what were pretty humble origins, to say the least, can be Deputy Prime Minister and now leader of the Labor Party.”

He also explains how he managed to track his father down in 2009 and the moment he met his ‘other’ family.

Click PLAY below to hear the fascinating story

Alan even had the chance to clarify how you actually pronounce the Labor leader’s surname.

See the video below