Sir John Frederick Rossiter

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

(17 December 1913 – 18 January 1988) was an Australian politician. Born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

to public servant James Alexander Rossiter and Sarah (née Nicholas) Rossiter, he attended Middle Park State School,

Melbourne High School Melbourne High School is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex education, single-sex Selective school, academically selective secondary school, secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb ...

and 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 ...

, studying for his

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 ...

. He then went to Melbourne Teachers' College and taught from 1937 to 1940 before enlisting in the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

, 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 The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...

. A member of 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 contested a by-election in Brunswick in 1949, and then was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

in 1955 as the member for

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. He served as Assistant Minister for Education (1964–1970), Minister for Immigration (1965–1967), Minister for Labour and Industry (1967–1970),

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

(1970–1973) and Chief Secretary (1973–1976) before his retirement in 1976. From 1976 to 1979 he served in London as Agent-General for Victoria. Rossiter was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1978. His wife died in 1979. In 1980 Rossiter moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and on 7 November 1980 he married Heather Steer. Rossiter died in 1988. Lady

Susan Renouf Susan, Lady Renouf (''née'' Rossiter; 15 July 1942 – 15 July 2016) was an Australian socialite. Her title was acquired through her third marriage to New Zealand businessman Sir Frank Renouf. Early life Renouf was born Susan Rossiter in Mel ...

was one of his three children.

References

1913 births 1988 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Ministers for health (Victoria) Chief secretaries of Victoria Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Australian politicians Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Agents-General for Victoria Ministers for labour (Victoria) {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub