Leo Weiser Port (7 September 192226 August 1978) was an Australian businessman, engineer, television personality, and Lord Mayor of Sydney from 1975 until his sudden death in 1978.

Biography

Leo Weiser Rapoport was born in Kraków, Poland in 1922 to Jewish parents. His family moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

in 1928 and fled to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

in 1939, reaching Sydney later that year. At that time his father and brother changed their surname to "Port", and Leo did likewise. Schooled at

Sydney Boys High School , motto_translation = With Truth and Courage , established = , location = Cleveland Street, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pu ...

, he became an electrical and mechanical engineer. He was elected to the Sydney City Council in 1969 representing the Civic Reform Association. He served as Lord Mayor between 1975 and 1978. Port was an advocate of civic design, and was partly responsible for the pedestrianisation of

Martin Place Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney.

and Sydney Square. He was appointed a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) in the New Year's Honours of 1974. Port was a panelist on the popular ABC television program '' The Inventors''. Port died in 1978 of

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

, survived by his wife, daughter and three sons. Port, Leo Weiser
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition. Accessed 2 August 2008. At Port's funeral, Rabbi Raymond Apple of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, described Port as a person with "remarkable capacities", possessing a "strong character, resourceful mind, generous heart, broad vision, quick imagination, and tireless industry".Eulogy for Alderman Leo Port
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Port, Leo 1922 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Australian engineers Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent Australian television personalities Civic Reform Association politicians Jewish Australian politicians Mayors and Lord Mayors of Sydney Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire German emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Deputy Lord Mayors of Sydney Polish emigrants to Germany