Nicholas George Pappas ( el, Νικόλαος Γεώργιος Παπαναστασιου) is a
solicitor
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
from
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and also the current chairman of the
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian 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 pla ...
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 ...
club. He was also chairman of the club from April 2003 to June 2006. During that time Pappas had led a board borne of an uneasy compromise following a bitter campaign in the lead up to the 2003 AGM.
Pappas was replaced in mid-2006 after the privatisation bid, supported by Pappas, of
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...
and
Peter Holmes a Court which was decided by a very narrow vote by members in March 2006. Pappas was restored to the chairman's position after the sudden departure of Holmes a Court in early 2008.
Pappas' most significant involvement with the
Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are ...
prior to being chairman was his part in the legal battle with
News Limited
News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp. One of Australia's largest media conglomerates, News Corp Australia employs more than 8,000 staff nationwide and approximately 3,0 ...
to reinstate the club to the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
(NRL), following the Rabbitohs exclusion at the end of the 1999 season. While the Rabbitohs were successful in gaining reinstatement to the NRL, through the leadership of George Piggins and the #14 Group of supporters, the actual court case was eventually decided on appeal in the
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution.
The High Court was established fol ...
in favour of News Ltd.
Pappas is also chairman of
Souths Cares
The Souths Cares program is an initiative of the South Sydney Rabbitohs which was started with the aim of to give children and young people from Redfern and the surrounding areas the opportunity to take part in a series of health and education work ...
and the South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club Member Company, the instrument which represents the interests of the club members who hold a 25% share of ownership.
Pappas is also principal, Nicholas G Pappas & Company Lawyers;
''Sydney solicitors'' Member, Archdiocesan Council of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia; chairman, Bank of Sydney; former president and board member, Powerhouse Museum Australia; member, Council of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens and board member of the Steve Waugh Foundation.
Pappas has a PhD in economic history and has written several books about the history of his parents' homeland, Castellorizo
Kastellorizo or Castellorizo (; el, Καστελλόριζο, Kastellórizo), officially Megisti ( ''Megísti''), is a Greek island and municipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean.Bertarelli, 131 It lies roughly off the south ...
in Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.
References
External links
In George We Trust - Australian Story Transcript
Year of birth missing (living people)
Australian people of Greek descent
Australian solicitors
Businesspeople from Sydney
Rugby league chairmen and investors
Australian chief executives
Australian rugby league administrators
Living people
People educated at Sydney Grammar School
South Sydney Rabbitohs
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