Andrew Thomson (Australian politician)

Andrew Peter Thomson (born 7 January 1961), an Australian politician, is a former Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Wentworth in New South Wales.

The Honourable
Andrew Thomson
Minister for Sport and Tourism
In office
9 October 1997 – 21 October 1998
Preceded byWarwick Smith (Sport)
Michael Lee (Tourism)
Succeeded byJackie Kelly
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Wentworth
In office
8 April 1995 – 8 October 2001
Preceded byJohn Hewson
Succeeded byPeter King
Personal details
Born (1961-01-07) 7 January 1961
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Political partyLiberal Party of Australia
RelationsPeter Thomson (father)
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
Keio University
Georgetown University Law Center
ProfessionSolicitor

Biography

Thomson is the son of the Australian golfer Peter Thomson[1] and worked as a solicitor, investment banker and golf course designer before entering politics. He was educated at the University of Melbourne (arts/law), Keio University in Tokyo and later at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC.[2] He entered parliament in April 1995 in a Wentworth by-election after Dr John Hewson vacated the seat when he retired from politics after being dumped from the Downer Shadow Cabinet and not reinstated into Howard's.[3]

When the Coalition took government at the 1996 election, Thomson was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. On 6 October 1997, he became Minister for Sport and Tourism, and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Sydney 2000 Games.[4] Thomson was the first Member of the House of Representatives to speak fluent Japanese and Chinese.

Thomson retired from the seat of Wentworth in 2001 after losing preselection to Peter King. Thereafter, he worked in the United States after passing the New York Bar Exam, then later joined Minter Ellison in Australia as a special counsel.[5] He worked in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Beijing before returning to live in Tokyo in early 2011 where he had worked in his twenties. Currently, he is registered as a foreign lawyer in Japan and has his own practice in the city of Fukuoka.

References
  1. "What goes around comes around for King". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 September 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  2. Kirk, Alexandra. "Political fall out over Thomson absence". The World Today. ABC Radio. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  3. Hugh Lamberton (30 January 1995). "Howard to reshuffle delicately". The Canberra Times. p. 1-2. Retrieved 8 December 2020 – via Trove.
  4. Biography for THOMSON, the Hon Andrew Peter, Parliament of Australia.
  5. Andrew Thomson, Consultant, World Services Group.
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