John Pandazopoulos (born 21 July 1963) is a Victorian politician. He was a Member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

, representing the electorate of

Dandenong Dandenong is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated mainly ...

for the Labor Party. During the Bracks Government, he was a member of Cabinet, serving as Minister for Major Projects, Employment, Tourism, Gaming and Racing. He was also Minister assisting the Premier on Multicultural Affairs.re-member - Parliament of Victoria
/ref> He divorced his first wife with whom he has had two children. He has since remarried.

Early life

Pandazopoulos was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1963. He grew up in the outer suburb of

Doveton Doveton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Casey local government area. Doveton recorded a population of 9,603 at the 2021 census. Doveton ...

, where he attended Doveton High School. He gained admission to

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

in 1982, where he obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

. While at university, he was active in student politics, serving as Secretary of the

Monash Student Association Monash may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places Australia Australian Capital Territory * Monash, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra South Australia * Monash, South Australia, a town Victoria * City of Monash, a municipality * Division of Mo ...

as well as having an active role in NUGAS. One of his contemporaries in student politics was

John Lenders John Lenders (born 1 October 1958) is an Australian politician. He represented the Southern Metropolitan Region in the Victorian Legislative Council. He was most notably the Minister for Education in the Bracks Government and Treasurer of Vic ...

, who was

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

of Victoria. Upon graduating, Pandazopoulos began work as an organiser with the

Finance Sector Union The Finance Sector Union of Australia (FSU) is a white collar trade union that represents professionals working in the Banking, Finance, Insurance and Superannuation industries in Australia. The FSU was formed from the amalgamation in 1991 of va ...

. He was elected to the City of Berwick Council in 1987, and was Mayor from 1990–1991.Panda

Political career

At age 29, Pandazopoulos was elected to the Victorian Parliament as Member for Dandenong. While the Labor Party was in Opposition from 1992–1999, he was appointed to a number of key roles, such as Shadow Minister for Freedom of Information and Tourism. When the Bracks Government was elected in 1999, Pandazopoulos became a member of the Victorian Cabinet as Minister for Major Projects, as well as Minister for Gaming and Minister assisting the Premier on Multicultural Affairs. He was dropped from Cabinet after the 2006 Victorian election, and has since served as Chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. On 26 November 2013, Pandazopoulos announced he would not contest the 2014 state election, and would be retiring from politics.Ironman MP John Pandazopoulos announces he won't recontest the seat of Dandenong
''Dandenong Leader'', 27 November 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandazopoulos, John 1963 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Australian people of Greek descent 21st-century Australian politicians People from the City of Casey Mayors of places in Victoria (Australia) Victoria (Australia) local councillors