Arthur Sinodinos | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| 22ndAmbassador of Australia to the United States | |
| In office 7 February 2020 – 20 March 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Scott Morrison Anthony Albanese |
| Preceded by | Joe Hockey |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Rudd |
| Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science | |
| In office 24 January 2017 – 20 December 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Turnbull |
| Preceded by | Greg Hunt |
| Succeeded by | Karen Andrews |
| Cabinet Secretary | |
| In office 21 September 2015 – 24 January 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Turnbull |
| Preceded by | Alan Griffin |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Assistant Treasurer of Australia | |
| In office 18 September 2013 – 19 December 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Abbott |
| Preceded by | David Bradbury |
| Succeeded by | Josh Frydenberg |
| Senator forNew South Wales | |
| In office 13 October 2011 – 11 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Helen Coonan |
| Succeeded by | Jim Molan |
| Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister | |
| In office 1 September 1997 – 3 December 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | John Howard |
| Preceded by | Grahame Morris |
| Succeeded by | David Epstein |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1957-02-25)25 February 1957 (age 68) Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence | Rose Bay |
| Alma mater | University of Newcastle |
| Profession | Economist,investment banker and politician |
Arthur SinodinosAO (/ˌsɪnəˈdiːnəs/SIN-ə-DEE-nəs;[1]Greek:Άρθουρ Σινοδινός,romanized: Árthour Sinodinós; born 25 February 1957) is an Australian diplomat and formerLiberal Party politician who was theAmbassador to the United States between February 2020 and March 2023. He served asChief of Staff to Prime MinisterJohn Howard from 1997 to 2007 and was aSenator forNew South Wales from 2011 to 2019, becoming a minister in theAbbott andTurnbull governments.
Sinodinos was born inNewcastle, New South Wales, and attended theUniversity of Newcastle. For many years he was a public servant until becoming a political adviser. In 1997 he was appointed Chief of Staff to John Howard. After Howard's defeat at the2007 election, Sinodinos spent time working for bothGoldman Sachs and theNational Australia Bank, before being appointed to fill a vacant seat in theSenate in 2011. After the Liberal victory at the2013 election, newly-elected Prime MinisterTony Abbott appointed SinodinosAssistant Treasurer. Sinodinos later stepped aside from his ministerial duties in 2014 during an investigation by theNew South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).[2][3][4] In September 2015, afterMalcolm Turnbull's appointment as Prime Minister, Sinodinos was appointedCabinet Secretary. He was later madeMinister for Industry, Innovation and Science in January 2017.[5] He resigned from the Government in December 2017, due to receiving treatment for cancer. In May 2019, Prime MinisterScott Morrison announced that Sinodinos would become Ambassador to the United States.
Sinodinos was born inNewcastle, New South Wales, to Greek immigrant parents.[6] His father was a member of the left-alignedSeaman's Union that, during Sinodinos' early years, was campaigning against the United States intervention inVietnam. His mother recalled stories of theGreek Civil War of the 1940s whereCommunist insurgents would knock on the door of their family home at night. Sinodinos has said that this helped him form his early political views.[7]
Sinodinos graduated from theUniversity of Newcastle in 1979 with aBachelor of Commerce with Honours. He then entered theAustralian Public Service as a graduate recruit, working within theDepartment of Finance, before working in theDepartment of the Treasury between 1980 and 1987 and again between 1989 and 1995.[6]
He was theChief of Staff to then Prime MinisterJohn Howard from 1997 to 2006, after serving with him previously from 1987 to 1989 when he was Opposition Leader and rejoining him in 1995.[8] As a close confidant of the Prime Minister, he was regarded as one of the most powerful people in the country.[9]
Sinodinos left his position as thePrime Minister's Chief of Staff to become a director with the investment bankGoldman Sachs JBWere,[10] and a regional general manager at theNational Australia Bank; he reportedly declined an offer to becomeAustralian Ambassador to the United States.[4] In 2008, he was part of a panel that mediated public input into theDefenceWhite Paper.[11] In March 2009, he was appointed a managing director at the National Australia Bank.[12]
Sinodinos became a director of Australian Water Holdings Pty Ltd (AWH) in 2008 and chairman in 2010. He resigned from these positions on becoming a senator.[13][14]
Sinodinos was appointed to fill the vacant New South Wales Senate seat opened by the resignation ofHelen Coonan on 13 October 2011.[15] He served as honorary Finance Director (2009 to 2011) and President (2011–2012) for the NSW branch of the Liberal Party. Initially touted as a candidate for thelower house seat ofBradfield,[16] Sinodinos was appointed to the Australian Senate representing New South Wales, replacing the resigned Liberal SenatorHelen Coonan for the remainder of her term, which was due to expire on 30 June 2014.[6][17] At the2013 election he was elected to a further six-year term from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2020. Howard was present in Parliament when Sinodinos delivered hismaiden speech.[18]
Sinodinos is a member of the board ofGlobal Panel Foundation – Australasia, a non-governmental organisation.[19]
During 2012 Sinodinos was a regular columnist, writing inThe Australian.[20]
On 19 March 2014, Sinodinos stood aside from his role as Assistant Treasurer prior to giving evidence as a witness beforeNew South Wales'sIndependent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). During the enquiry Sinodinos advised he was unaware of a $74,000 donation made to the Liberal Party by Australian Water Holdings, despite being Deputy chairman on a $200,000 salary. At the time of the payment Sinodinos was also Treasurer of the Liberal Party.[21] He formally resigned on 19 December 2014 as Assistant Treasurer and was succeeded as Assistant Treasurer byJosh Frydenberg.[22][23] ICAC eventually made no adverse findings against Sinodinos.[24]
In January 2017,Sussan Ley temporarily stood aside as the Minister for Health and Aged Care and Minister for Sport and then subsequently resigned from the ministry. Sinodinos briefly acted in her portfolios until asubsequent rearrangement of the Turnbull ministry where Sinodinos was appointed as the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science.[5] In October 2017, Sinodinos took leave from parliament and the ministry to aid his recovery from an unnamed type of cancer. He "believes the prognosis is very positive and that the cancer is eminently treatable".[25] This was later revealed to be a stage fournon-Hodgkin lymphoma, for which Sinodinos required a bone marrow transplant.[26][27] He was voluntarily removed from cabinet in theDecember 2017 rearrangement.[28]
On 1 May 2023,The Asia Group announced that Sinodinos will chair the organization's new Australia practice.[29]
In May 2019, it was announced that Sinodinos would be appointed the nextAustralian Ambassador to the United States.[30] He resigned as a member of theSenate on 11 November 2019.[31] He replacedJoe Hockey as ambassador on 7 February 2020.[32]
Sinodinos was appointed an Officer of theOrder of Australia in 2008 for service to politics through the executive function of government, to the development of economic policy and reform, and to the Greek community.[33][34]
Sinodinos lives in New South Wales with his wife, whom he met at aGreek Orthodox Church, and their three children.[7] He has been a director of theMary MacKillop Foundation.[35]
Senator Arthur Sinodinos wrote to me this week to tell me his medical treatment is taking longer than anticipated and he is unlikely to be able to return from leave until the middle of next year. In those circumstances, he has asked that he not be included in this new ministry. Senator Sinodinos is one of this generation's most accomplished and experienced public servants and his contributions to the Cabinet have been sorely missed since his illness was first diagnosed. Naturally, we wish him well in his recovery and I look forward to him regaining full health and returning to a senior Ministerial or other government role in the future.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Parliament of Australia | ||
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| Preceded by | Senator for New South Wales 2011–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Assistant Treasurer of Australia 2013–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cabinet Secretary 2015–2017 | Succeeded by None |
| Preceded by | Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science 2017 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | Australian Ambassador to the United States 2020–2023 | Succeeded by |
Prime Minister:Tony Abbott | ||
| Cabinet |  | |
| Outer Ministry | ||
| Parliamentary Secretaries | ||
| Dismissed/resigned | ||
Prime Minister:Malcolm Turnbull | ||
| Cabinet |  | |
| Outer Ministry | ||
| Assistant Ministers | ||
| Dismissed/resigned/lost seat | ||
Prime Minister:Malcolm Turnbull | ||
| Cabinet | | |
| Outer Ministry | ||
| Assistant Ministers | ||
| Resigned | ||
