James Robert Short (born 7 December 1936) is a former Australian public servant, politician and diplomat. He was an assistant secretary in the Department of the Treasury before winning election to the House of Representatives as a Liberal at the 1975 federal election. He was defeated in 1980 but transferred to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1984, serving until 1997. He briefly served as Assistant Treasurer in the Howard Government in 1996, and after leaving politics worked at the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...

and as Australia's special envoy to Cyprus.

Early life

Short was born on 7 December 1936 in Shepparton, Victoria. He was the youngest of three children born to Elsie (née Hearn) and George Short. His father was a public servant who initially worked as a surveyor but was seconded to the

Manpower Directorate The Israeli Personnel Directorate (, ''Agaf Koakh Adam'', abbreviated to AKA), formerly called the Manpower Directorate and the Human Resources Directorate, is the Israel Defense Forces body that holds responsibility for planning and coordination ...

on the outbreak of World War II. The family moved to Wangaratta and then in 1946 moved to

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

where his father ran the local Commonwealth Employment Service office. Short was educated at Wangaratta Primary School, Gravel Hill State School and Bendigo High School, where he was the head prefect and captained the school's cricket and tennis teams.

Public service career

After leaving high school Short took up a cadetship with the Commonwealth Public Service, studying part-time at the University of Melbourne while undergoing management training at the Postmaster-General's Department. He graduated Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce in 1961, subsequently joining the Tariff Board. He moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1962 and the following year transferred to the Department of the Treasury. In 1964 Short became private secretary to the Treasurer, serving under

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...

(1964–1966) and William McMahon (1966). He then spent three years as a Treasury representative in London before returning to Australia and becoming assistant secretary of the overseas economic relations division. He was later seconded to the Australian Industry Development Corporation as deputy general manager before returning to the Treasury as assistant secretary of the foreign investment division.

Politics

House of Representatives

Short was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1975 federal election, retaining the

Division of Ballaarat The Division of Ballarat (spelt Ballaarat from 1901 until the 1977 election) is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the fi ...

(spelled Ballarat after 1977) for the Liberal Party. He was re-elected in 1977 but his lost his seat to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) candidate John Mildren at the 1980 election.

Senate

In 1984, he was elected to the

. Short held senior portfolios in the Coalition shadow cabinets of the late 1980s and early 1990s, serving from 1987 to 1988 under John Howard and then from 1990 to 1996 under John Hewson, Alexander Downer and Howard again. Short was appointed Assistant Treasurer in the First Howard Ministry in March 1996. On 14 October 1996 he resigned his portfolio, after inadvertently misleading the Senate about a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

Later activities

Short resigned from the Senate in 1997 to take up a $150,000-a-year (tax-free) position at the

, where he remained until 2000. He served as Australian Special Envoy for Cyprus from 2000 to 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Jim Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Ballarat Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Members of the Australian Senate 1936 births Living people Australian diplomats Australian public servants 20th-century Australian politicians