1. John Wayne Olsen AO was born on 7 June 1945 and is an Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner.
44 Facts About John Olsen
1. 2.
John Olsen was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001.
3.
John Olsen is President of the Federal Liberal Party, Chairman of the Australian American Association, Chairman of the Adelaide Football Club and Deputy Chairman of the Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority.
4.
John Olsen unsuccessfully led the party to both the 1985 election and 1989 election.
5.
John Olsen returned to the South Australian parliament in 1992, but was defeated for the Liberal party leadership by Dean Brown.
6.
However, in 1996, John Olsen successfully challenged Brown for the Liberal leadership, and hence became Premier.
7.
John Olsen led the party to a narrow victory at the 1997 election, and remained Premier until 2001.
8.
John Olsen resigned in 2001, after he was found to have misled parliament during the Motorola affair.
9.
John Olsen is the longest-serving Liberal Party of Australia Premier of South Australia and the fourth-longest-serving Leader of the Opposition.
10.
John Olsen became the State President of the South Australian Liberal Party in June 2017.
11.
John Olsen previously held that position from 1976 to 1979.
12.
John Olsen was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 2007.
13.
John Olsen attended Kadina Memorial High School, later completing a certificate in business studies at the University of Adelaide and becoming a fellow of the National Institute of Accountants.
14.
John Olsen began his working career in 1962 as a clerk with the Savings Bank of South Australia.
15.
John Olsen served as president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of South Australia from 1974 to 1976.
16.
John Olsen was elected to the Kadina Town Council in 1971.
17.
John Olsen served as mayor from 1974 to 1977, reputedly "South Australia's youngest ever mayor".
18.
In 1976, John Olsen was elected president of the Liberal Party of Australia, serving until 1979.
19.
John Olsen was first elected to the South Australian House of Assembly at the 1979 election as a Liberal in the Barossa Valley seat of Rocky River.
20.
John Olsen represented this seat, renamed Custance at the 1985 election, until 1990.
21.
John Olsen resigned as state Liberal leader soon after the election and returned to the backbench.
22.
John Olsen was appointed to the Australian Senate in 1990 to fill a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Tony Messner.
23.
However, several members of the party's moderate wing were unwilling to see John Olsen take the leadership uncontested.
24.
John Olsen returned to the House of Assembly at the 1992 Kavel by-election, on the same day as Brown at the 1992 Alexandra by-election.
25.
John Olsen became Minister for Industry and Minister for Infrastructure until 1997, when a cabinet reshuffle saw him become Minister for Information Technology and Minister for Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs.
26.
John Olsen was forced into a minority government supported by National and independent MPs.
27.
John Olsen steered water management and conservation projects, including the recycling of water from Adelaide's Bolivar Water Treatment Plant to the Northern Adelaide Plains.
28.
John Olsen endorsed and facilitated the Barossa Water Project, a water distribution scheme from the River Murray to the Barossa Valley floor, alleviating the Barossa Valley winegrowers' water irrigation problems and boosting annual production by $30 million.
29.
The John Olsen Government secured major sporting events including the Tour Down Under and V8 Supercar Series.
30.
John Olsen claimed he was vindicated, noting that two out of three reports had cleared him of any wrongdoing.
31.
On 24 May 2017 John Olsen announced that he had been asked to stand for the position of State President of the SA Liberals at a party vote on 16 June with cross-factional support, after incumbent Steve Murray stood down from the position on 23 May to contest Davenport at the 2018 state election.
32.
John Olsen had previously served as state president in 1979, before giving up the post to enter parliament.
33.
In 2020, John Olsen was elected President of the Federal Liberal Party.
34.
John Olsen was elected unopposed with the support of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
35.
Since leaving South Australian politics, John Olsen was appointed by the Howard federal Liberal government as Australian Consul-General to Los Angeles.
36.
On 7 December 2005, his Liberal Party colleague and fellow South Australian, Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer announced that John Olsen would become the new Australian Consul-General in New York.
37.
John Olsen started G'Day USA in 2004, a week-long program showcasing the best of Australia.
38.
John Olsen was appointed chairman of the South Australian Football Commission in 2010.
39.
John Olsen played a role in the negotiations to move football from Football Park to Adelaide Oval.
40.
John Olsen served as president of the South Australian National Football League from 2014 to 2020.
41.
John Olsen is a life member of the West Adelaide Football Club with whom he was the number-one ticket holder for 17 years.
42.
John Olsen is presently the Deputy Chairman of the Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority.
43.
On 13 October 2020 John Olsen was announced as the Chairman of the board of directors of the Adelaide Football Club, one of two Adelaide-based professional Australian rules football clubs participating in the Australian Football League.
44.
John Olsen married Julie Abbott in 1968, with whom he had two sons and a daughter.