1. Arthur Sinodinos is an Australian diplomat and former Liberal Party politician who was the Ambassador to the United States between February 2020 and March 2023.
32 Facts About Arthur Sinodinos
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Arthur Sinodinos served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister John Howard from 1997 to 2007 and was a Senator for New South Wales from 2011 to 2019, becoming a minister in the Abbott and Turnbull governments.
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Arthur Sinodinos later stepped aside from his ministerial duties in 2014 during an investigation by the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption.
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In September 2015, after Malcolm Turnbull's appointment as Prime Minister, Arthur Sinodinos was appointed Cabinet Secretary.
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Arthur Sinodinos was later made Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science in January 2017.
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Arthur Sinodinos resigned from the Government in December 2017, due to receiving treatment for cancer.
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In May 2019, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Arthur Sinodinos would become Ambassador to the United States.
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Arthur Sinodinos was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, to Greek immigrant parents.
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Arthur Sinodinos's father was a member of the left-aligned Seaman's Union that, during Sinodinos' early years, was campaigning against the United States intervention in Vietnam.
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Arthur Sinodinos's mother recalled stories of the Greek Civil War of the 1940s where Communist insurgents would knock on the door of their family home at night.
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Arthur Sinodinos has said that this helped him form his early political views.
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Arthur Sinodinos graduated from the University of Newcastle in 1979 with a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours.
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Arthur Sinodinos then entered the Australian Public Service as a graduate recruit, working within the Department of Finance, before working in the Department of the Treasury between 1980 and 1987 and again between 1989 and 1995.
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Arthur Sinodinos was the Chief of Staff to then Prime Minister John Howard from 1997 to 2006, after serving with him previously from 1987 to 1989 when he was Opposition Leader and rejoining him in 1995.
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Arthur Sinodinos left his position as the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff to become a director with the investment bank Goldman Sachs JBWere, and a regional general manager at the National Australia Bank; he reportedly declined an offer to become Australian Ambassador to the United States.
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Arthur Sinodinos became a director of Australian Water Holdings Pty Ltd in 2008 and chairman in 2010.
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Arthur Sinodinos resigned from these positions on becoming a senator.
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Arthur Sinodinos was appointed to fill the vacant New South Wales Senate seat opened by the resignation of Helen Coonan on 13 October 2011.
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Arthur Sinodinos served as honorary Finance Director and President for the NSW branch of the Liberal Party.
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Howard was present in Parliament when Arthur Sinodinos delivered his maiden speech.
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On 19 March 2014, Arthur Sinodinos stood aside from his role as Assistant Treasurer prior to giving evidence as a witness before New South Wales's Independent Commission Against Corruption.
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At the time of the payment Arthur Sinodinos was Treasurer of the Liberal Party.
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Arthur Sinodinos formally resigned on 19 December 2014 as Assistant Treasurer and was succeeded as Assistant Treasurer by Josh Frydenberg.
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Arthur Sinodinos briefly acted in her portfolios until a subsequent rearrangement of the Turnbull ministry where Arthur Sinodinos was appointed as the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science.
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In October 2017, Arthur Sinodinos took leave from parliament and the ministry to aid his recovery from an unnamed type of cancer.
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Arthur Sinodinos "believes the prognosis is very positive and that the cancer is eminently treatable".
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Arthur Sinodinos was voluntarily removed from cabinet in the December 2017 rearrangement.
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In May 2019, it was announced that Arthur Sinodinos would be appointed the next Australian Ambassador to the United States.
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Arthur Sinodinos resigned as a member of the Senate on 11 November 2019.
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Arthur Sinodinos replaced Joe Hockey as ambassador on 7 February 2020.
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Arthur Sinodinos was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2008 for service to politics through the executive function of government, to the development of economic policy and reform, and to the Greek community.
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Arthur Sinodinos has been a director of the Mary MacKillop Foundation.