James Robert Short (born 7 December 1936) is a former Australian public servant, politician and diplomat. He was an assistant secretary in the Department of the Treasury before winning election to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

at the 1975 federal election. He was defeated in 1980 but transferred to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1984, serving until 1997. He briefly served as Assistant Treasurer in the

Howard government The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...

in 1996, and after leaving politics worked at the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

and as Australia's

special envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Early life

Short was born on 7 December 1936 in

Shepparton, Victoria Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton ...

. He was the youngest of three children born to Elsie (née Hearn) and George Short. His father was a public servant who initially worked as a surveyor but was seconded to the

Manpower Directorate The Israeli Personnel Directorate (, ''Agaf Koakh Adam'', abbreviated to AKA), formerly called the Manpower Directorate and the Human Resources Directorate, is the Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively ...

on the outbreak of World War II. The family moved to

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had a population of 29,808 per the 2021 Australian Census. The city is located at the confluence, junction of the Ovens River, ...

and then in 1946 moved to

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

where his father ran the local

Commonwealth Employment Service The Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) was an Australian Government employment agency that was established in 1946 with the introduction of the ''Re-establishment and Employment Act 1945'' under the Curtin ALP government. It was designed to i ...

office. Short was educated at Wangaratta Primary School, Gravel Hill State School and

Bendigo High School Bendigo Senior Secondary College (BSSC) is an Australian Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded co-educational Secondary education, secondary school for Year Eleven, Year 11 and Year Twelve, Year 12 students located in the ...

, where he was the head prefect and captained the school's cricket and tennis teams.

Public service career

After leaving high school Short took up a cadetship with the

Commonwealth Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the Gov ...

, studying part-time at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

while undergoing management training at the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

. He graduated

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (BCom or B Com) is an undergraduate degree in commerce, accounting, mathematics, economics, and management-related subjects. The degree is mainly offered in Commonwealth nations. Structure Bachelor of Commerce The Bac ...

in 1961, subsequently joining the Tariff Board. He moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

in 1962 and the following year transferred to the Department of the Treasury. In 1964 Short became private secretary to the

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

, serving under

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until Disappearance of Harold Holt, his disappearance and presumed death in 1967. He held o ...

(1964–1966) and

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988), also known as Billy McMahon, was an Australian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia ...

(1966). He then spent three years as a Treasury representative in London before returning to Australia and becoming assistant secretary of the overseas economic relations division. He was later seconded to the

Australian Industry Development Corporation The Australian Industry Development Corporation (AIDC) was an investment company and state-owned enterprise fully owned by the Australian Government for most of its existence. It was established by the Gorton government in 1971 as a pet project of ...

as deputy general manager before returning to the Treasury as assistant secretary of the foreign investment division.

Politics

House of Representatives

Short was elected to the

at the 1975 federal election, retaining the Division of Ballaarat (spelled Ballarat after 1977) for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. He was re-elected in 1977 but his lost his seat to the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) candidate John Mildren at the 1980 election.

Senate

In 1984, he was elected to the

. Short held senior portfolios in the Coalition shadow cabinets of the late 1980s and early 1990s, serving from 1987 to 1988 under

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

and then from 1990 to 1996 under

John Hewson John Robert Hewson AM (born 28 October 1946) is an Australian former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1990 to 1994. He led the Liberal-National Coalition to defeat at the 1993 Australian federal election. Hewson w ...

Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United Ki ...

and Howard again. Short was appointed Assistant Treasurer in the First Howard Ministry in March 1996. On 14 October 1996 he resigned his portfolio, after inadvertently misleading the Senate about a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

Later activities

Short resigned from the Senate in 1997 to take up a $150,000-a-year (tax-free) position at the

, where he remained until 2000. He served as Australian Special Envoy for

from 2000 to 2007. Short was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the

2025 Australia Day Honours The 2025 Australia Day Honours are appointments Australian honours system, to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2025 by the Governor General of Australia, Sa ...

for significant service to the Parliament of Australia, to multiculturalism, and to international relations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Jim 1936 births Living people University of Melbourne alumni Australian diplomats Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Ballarat Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Australian MPs 1975–1977 Australian MPs 1977–1980 Members of the Order of Australia