1. John Michael Spender was an Australian politician, diplomat and barrister.
20 Facts About John Spender
1. 2.
John Spender was a member of the House of Representatives from 1980 to 1990, representing the Liberal Party, and was a shadow minister under Andrew Peacock and John Howard.
3.
John Spender later served as Ambassador to France from 1996 to 2000.
4.
John Spender was the son of Jean and Percy Spender.
5.
John Spender's mother was a novelist and his father was a politician, diplomat and judge who served as Ambassador to the United States in the 1950s.
6.
John Spender returned to Australia and practised as a barrister in Sydney from 1961 to 1980.
7.
John Spender was commissioned by the Government of New South Wales to report on the collapse of Gollin Holdings Limited.
8.
John Spender found that the company's managing director Keith Gale had falsified accounts to cover a $10.8 million loss in 1975, and had misappropriated company funds.
9.
John Spender served as treasurer and metropolitan vice-president of the Liberal Party of Australia.
10.
John Spender unsuccessfully sought Liberal preselection at the 1969 federal election and the 1973 Parramatta by-election.
11.
John Spender was eventually elected to the House of Representatives at the 1980 federal election, succeeding Bill Graham in North Sydney.
12.
John Spender was later removed for opposing the Costigan Commission.
13.
John Spender held the seat until his defeat by prominent independent Ted Mack at the 1990 election.
14.
John Spender lost over 18 percent of his primary vote from 1987, allowing Mack to win when Democrat and Labor preferences flowed overwhelmingly to him.
15.
In 1996, John Spender was appointed Australian Ambassador to France, a position he held until 2000.
16.
John Spender was non-resident ambassador to Portugal and special envoy to Cyprus.
17.
John Spender was awarded a Legion D'honneur by the French government for the work he did to build French and Australian relations.
18.
John Spender married fashion designer Carla Zampatti in 1975 and they had two children: Bianca and Allegra.
19.
Allegra John Spender was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2022 federal election, standing as a teal independent against an incumbent Liberal MP.
20.
John Spender died in Sydney on 13 October 2022, at the age of 86.