John Hamdi Eren (born 15 March 1964) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly an ...

since 2002, representing

Geelong Province Geelong Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council until 2006, located around Geelong. It was abolished from the 2006 state election in the wake of the Bracks Labor government's reform of the Legislative Council. The a ...

in the Legislative Council from 2002 to 2006, and

Lara Lara may refer to: Places * Lara (state), a state in Venezuela *Electoral district of Lara, an electoral district in Victoria, Australia * Lara, Antalya, an urban district in Turkey * Lara, Victoria, a township in Australia * Lara de los In ...

in the Legislative Assembly since 2006. Eren was the Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Minister for Sport and Minister for Veterans' Affairs in the First Andrews Ministry between December 2014 and December 2018.

Early years

Eren was born in

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

, Turkey. He came to Australia with his family (Father was a skilled migrant; fitter and turner) in 1970 and studied at a high school in the northern suburbs of

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 ...

. Prior to entering Parliament, Eren worked in a variety of fields with the most prominent being on the assembly line at Ford in Geelong. At 21, Eren became the

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

at Ford for the Vehicle Builders Union representing workers on the shop floor. After Eren's time at Ford he was an electorate officer for Kelvin Thomson the Federal Member for Wills for over five years. Eren was elected as the State Member for Geelong Province in 2002.

Political career

Eren was elected to the Legislative Council from 2002 to 2006 representing the Geelong Province. In 2006 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the Member for Lara and re-elected in 2010. In his first term in Parliament, John was a member of the Road Safety Committee and become the chair from 2007 to 2010. Eren has been a part of other committees including the Rural and Regional Committee and the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee. In 2011 Eren was elevated as the parliamentary secretary to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Eren was Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Minister for Sport and Minister for Veterans' Affairs in the First Andrews Ministry, but was not included in the Second Andrews Ministry since 2018.

References

External links

Parliamentary voting record of John Eren at Victorian Parliament Tracker
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Eren, John 1964 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly People from İzmir Politicians from Melbourne Turkish emigrants to Australia 21st-century Australian politicians Labor Right politicians Politicians from Geelong Ministers for Veterans (Victoria)