John Richard "Johno" Johnson GCSG (26 July 1930 – 9 August 2017) was an Australian politician. He served as President of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1978 to 1991.

Career

Born in

Murwillumbah Murwillumbah ( ) is a town in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in the Tweed Shire, on the Tweed River. Sitting on the south eastern foothills of the McPherson Range in the Tweed Volcano valley, Murwillumbah is 848 km north-e ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, he was a grocer and trade union official before entering politics. He married Pauline Christina Russell, with whom he adopted two sons and two daughters. He served as director of the

Prince of Wales Hospital Prince of Wales Hospital is a large of Tertiary referral hospital and large of teaching hospital from Faculty of Medicine in Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin, New Territories in Hong Kong.. Named after Charles, Prince of Wales (now ...

in Sydney and was chair of the Catholic Newspaper Company, publishers of ''

The Catholic Weekly ''The Catholic Weekly'' is an English language newspaper currently published in Sydney, Australia. It is published in tabloid format. Throughout its history, it has also been published as ''The Freeman's Journal'' and ''Catholic Freeman's Jour ...

''. He was also a member of the boards of

NSW Lotteries New South Wales Lotteries, (usually marketed and referred to as NSW Lotteries or the Lott) is a corporation owned by the Government of New South Wales in Australia. Since 2 March 2010, it has been operated by Tatts Group Limited under a 40-year ...

and

Cancer Council Australia Cancer Council Australia is a national, nonprofit organisation which aims to promote cancer-control policies and to reduce the illness caused by cancer in Australia. It advises various groups, including the government, on cancer-related issues, ...

. In 1976, he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council for the Labor Party, having been Treasurer of the New South Wales party branch. He served as the council's president from 1978 to 1991, and remained a member of the Legislative Council until his resignation in 2001. He was replaced by Michael Costa.

Honours

In 2001, Johnson was awarded the Centenary Medal. He was made a life member of the Labor Party. In 2006, he was created Knight Commander of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

for services to the Church in Australia, and was elevated to Knight Grand Cross by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

in 2016. He was a Fellow of

Warrane College, University of New South Wales Warrane College UNSW is an affiliated residential college at the University of New South Wales, Australia. The name of the College is derived from the Aboriginal word for the Sydney Cove area, "Warrang", highlighting the recognition by Warrane a ...

. Johnson died aged 87 in Sydney on 9 August 2017 and honoured with a state funeral at

St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians (colloquially, St Mary's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, curre ...

that month.

References

1930 births 2017 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Presidents of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian monarchists Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Australian Roman Catholics Recipients of the Centenary Medal 20th-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian politicians Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great {{Australia-Labor-NewSouthWales-MP-stub