John Rossiter

Who is John Rossiter?

Sir John Frederick Rossiter KBE was an Australian politician.

Born in Melbourne to public servant James Alexander Rossiter and Sarah, née Nicholas, he attended Middle Park State School, Melbourne High School and the University of Melbourne, studying for his Bachelor of Arts. He then went to Melbourne Teachers' College and taught from 1937 to 1940 before enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force, in which he served from 1940 to 1946. On 1 March 1939 he married Joan Stewart, with whom he had three children. From 1946 to 1955 he was a senior lecturer in English at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. A member of the Liberal Party, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1955 as the member for Brighton. He served as Assistant Minister for Education, Minister for Immigration, Minister for Labour and Industry, Minister for Health and Chief Secretary before his retirement in 1976. Rossiter was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1978 and in 1980 moved to Sydney. His wife had died in 1979, and on 7 November 1980 he married Heather Steer. Rossiter died in 1988.