Michael Steven Knight AO (born 21 September 1952 in ,

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 ...

) is a former

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

politician. He was member for Campbelltown in the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

between 1981 and 2001. He served as

Minister for the Olympics The Minister for the Olympics was a position within the United Kingdom Government created on 6 July 2005 as a result of the selection of London to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. It was merged into the position of Secretary of State for Culture, Ol ...

between 1995 and 2001 in the Carr

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

government.

Background and early career

Knight attended Doonside High School and Cranbrook School. He graduated with 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 ...

(Honours) from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and worked for the Campbelltown City Council as a social planner and parole officer before entering politics.

Political career

Knight entered the

at the 1981 election succeeding Cliff Mallam who had held the seat for ten years. Originally a member of the

leftwing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

faction Faction or factionalism may refer to: Politics * Political faction, a group of people with a common political purpose * Free and Independent Faction, a Romanian political party * Faction (''Planescape''), a political faction in the game ''Planes ...

, Knight defected to

rightwing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

faction after a trip in Europe which convinced him that

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

had failed. Knight remained on the back bench until 1995 when he was appointed to the state

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

with ministerial responsibilities for Public Works and Services, the Olympics and Roads. His responsibilities were later in 1995 reduced to Roads and Olympics. In 1996 this was further reduced to responsibility for the Olympics, a portfolio he held until his retirement in 2001. As Minister for the Olympics he was Chair of the

Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games The Sydney Organising Committee for the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, or SOCOG, also known as the Sydney Organising Committee, was an informal name for the Sydney Organising Committee for the Games of the XXVII Olympiad. The President of SOCOG wa ...

(SOCOG).

Post political career

In 2007 Knight was appointed to the Chair of the Board of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority, the body which manages the day-to-day running and future development of

Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...

. He was reappointed to the Board as its Chairman in 2013, and his term expired in June 2016. Knight was a director of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

– owned corporation,

Delta Electricity Delta Electricity is an electricity generation company in Australia. The company was formed by the Government of New South Wales in 1996 as part of its reform of the electricity sector in the State, which saw the breakup of the Electricity Commi ...

, until December 2010 when he was one of the four directors who resigned en masse in protest of the privatisation of the generating assets of the company. During 2005 he also served as chairman of Sydney Gas Limited, prior to its takeover by the

Australian Gas Light Company The Australian Gas Light Company (AGL) was an Australian gas and electricity retailer, operated entirely by McCarthy Hanlin. It was formed in Sydney in 1837 and supplied town gas for the first public lighting of a street lamp in Sydney in 1841. AG ...

. He is also the non-executive chairman of InfraShore, a public-private partnership consortium between Thiess and

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...

in charge of the billion-dollar redevelopment of

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has over 600 beds. It is the prin ...

Honours

In January 2002 Knight was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for services to: Olympic and Paralympic sport, particularly in the area of Games' administration; to the New South Wales Parliament; and, to the community of Campbelltown. In 2000, Knight was awarded a Gold

Olympic Order The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Traditi ...

by the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

at the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Personal

Knight is married to Anne, and they have two daughters. He is a keen supporter of

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

team.

References

External links

* 1952_births Living_people Presidents_of_the_Organising_Committees_for_the_Olympic_Games Australian_people_of_German_descent Members_of_the_New_South_Wales_Legislative_Assembly Officers_of_the_Order_of_Australia University_of_Sydney_alumni People_educated_at_Cranbrook_School,_Sydney Australian_Labor_Party_members_of_the_Parliament_of_New_South_Wales Recipients_of_the_Olympic_Order 21st-century_Australian_politicianshtml" ;"title="id=2075 , former=Yes Parliament of NSW Profile] {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Michael 1952 births Living people Presidents of the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games Australian people of German descent Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Officers of the Order of Australia University of Sydney alumni People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Recipients of the Olympic Order 21st-century Australian politicians>id=2075 , former=Yes Parliament of NSW Profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Michael 1952 births Living people Presidents of the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games Australian people of German descent Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Officers of the Order of Australia University of Sydney alumni People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Recipients of the Olympic Order 21st-century Australian politicians