Francis John Sullivan AO (born 8 August 1956) is a teacher, administrator, and leader in health care organisations, who was CEO of the Catholic Church in Australia's Truth, Justice and Healing Council, in addition to being the previous Secretary-General of the

Australian Medical Association The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an Australian public company by guarantee formed as a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students. The association is not run by the Australian Government and does not regul ...

). He was the chief executive officer of

Catholic Health Australia Catholic Health Australia represents 75 hospitals and 550 residential and community aged care services and comprises Australia's largest non-government not-for-profit grouping of health and aged care services. Catholic Health Australia was establish ...

from 1994 to 2008. In 2020, Sullivan was honoured for his services to the community as an Officer of the Order of Australia (A0).

Early life and education

Sullivan was born in Perth, Western Australia, where he attended

Servite College Servite College is an independent Roman Catholic co-educational secondary day school, located in the Perth suburb of Tuart Hill, Western Australia. The school is operated by the Servite Order. History Servite College was founded by members of ...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Politics from Curtin University of Technology (1977) and a Diploma of Education from University of Western Australia (1978). Between 1987 and 1988 Sullivan travelled to Chicago with his wife and daughter where he received a Master of Arts at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

(1988). He later returned to Australia, residing in Canberra, alongside his wife and three children.

Career

Sullivan was a high school teacher and deputy principal at many Catholic high schools and colleges in Perth between 1979 and 1990, including Servite College, where he taught religious education. Between 1990 and 1993, Sullivan worked in the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...

as the Chief of Staff for Labor Health Minister Keith Wilson, before moving to Canberra with his wife Susan and three children in 1993 to take up a position with Australian health lobbyist group, Catholic Health Australia. In 1994 he became the CEO of the group, a role in which he remained for nearly 14 years. On 10 December 2007 it was announced that Sullivan would be moving to the

to take up the leading position of Secretary-General, a role in which he began on 6 February 2008 replacing former Secretary-General Kerry Gallagher. Sullivan was appointed CEO of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council in 2012, which he remained in the position of until he entered retirement in late 2018. In 2019, Sullivan retired to act as a board member throughout different Catholic organisations operating within Australia, including Mercy Health.

Order of Australia

In June 2020, Sullivan was announced on the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

list to receive the honour of Officer of the Order of Australia, general division. Sullivan received the honour for his numerous services to the community throughout his career "particularly through social justice and legislative reform initiatives, and to health and aged care". Speaking to '' The Guardian'', Sullivan spoke on his honours, stating the acknowledgement was "wonderful", furthering to say "if my efforts have been recognised here, what’s really happening is the plight of those I’ve worked for, and their value in society, is now being recognised".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Francis J. 1956 births Living people Australian chief executives People from Perth, Western Australia Australian Roman Catholics Officers of the Order of Australia