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Member Details

The Hon. John Robert Arthur DOWD, LLB

Member Photo
Date of Birth: 12/11/1940
Place of Birth: Australia
Date of Death:
Place of Death:
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
Attorney General 25 Mar 1988 03 May 1991 3 years 1 month 9 days
Member for Lane Cove 19 Mar 1988 03 May 1991 3 years 1 month 15 days
Member for Lane Cove 24 Mar 1984 22 Feb 1988 3 years 10 months 30 days
Member for Lane Cove 19 Sep 1981 05 Mar 1984 2 years 5 months 16 days
Member for Lane Cove 07 Oct 1978 28 Aug 1981 2 years 10 months 22 days
Member for Lane Cove 01 May 1976 12 Sep 1978 2 years 4 months 13 days
Member for Lane Cove 08 Feb 1975 02 Apr 1976 1 year 1 month 26 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly 08 Feb 1975 03 May 1991 16 years 2 months 26 days
Political Party Activity
Liberal Party. Leader of the Opposition on 20 October 1981 - 15 March 1983. Shadow Attorney General and Shadow Leader of the Legislative Assembly. Member Federal Council. Former Member of State Executive. Former Chairman Law and Justice Committee.
Community Activity
President and Chairman of the Executive Committee, International Commission of Jurists, Geneva, (Australian Section). Ambassador and President to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Former Executive Director of the Australian Opera Company 1975-1980 delegate to Australian Constitutional Convention in Hobart 1976, Perth 1978, Brisbane 1985; Knight Commander of the Filipino Order of the Knights of Rizal; Australian President of the International Commission of Jurists; former Chairman of the Upper North Shore Region and Co - Chairman of the Lane Cove area, National Parks and Wildlife Appeal; former Parish councillor at St Peter's Anglican Church, East Lindfield.
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Lawyer (barrister). Educated at Fort Street Boys High School and University of Sydney LLB. Admitted as a solicitor in 1963. Before entering Parliament practised at the Bar of New South Wales, admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1967. Australian Capital Territory and Papua New Guinea in the fields of criminal, commercial and family law. Appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Was a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Australian Opera Company. Recreational interests include ocean yacht racing, swimming and theatre.
Military Service
National Service 1959.
Honours Received
Order of Australia
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Patron of the Greenwich Flying Yacht Squadron, Lane Cove Country Club, Hunters Hill Parents and Citizens Association, Lane Cove West and Lane Cove Parents and Citizens Association.
Personal
Married Jill on 31 August 1963 and had issue, 4 daughters.
Additional Information
Electorate description: Metropolitan, residential suburban. Located Sydney, northern. Principal suburbs: Chatswood West, Greenwich, Hunters Hill, Lane Cove, Longueville. Area: 18.4 sq km Population: 44,565 Enrolment: 31,065

The Parliament of New South Wales acknowledges and respects the traditional lands of all Aboriginal people, and pays respects to all Elders past and present. We acknowledge the Gadigal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which the Parliament of New South Wales stands.