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John Chun Sai So (, ; born 2 October 1946) is a Hong Kong Australian businessman who served as the 102nd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. He was the first Lord Mayor in the city's history to be directly elected by voters; previously, Lord Mayors were elected by the
councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...
s. He is also the first Lord Mayor of Melbourne of Chinese descent. First elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2004, So is the second-longest-serving Lord Mayor of Melbourne, serving for seven and a half years. In 2006, he won the
World Mayor World Mayor is a biennial award organized by the City Mayors Foundation since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of c ...
award. On 1 October 2008, So announced that he would not seek re-election for a third term as Lord Mayor. He was succeeded by Robert Doyle. So currently serves as
chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of the Global Business Council, an international forum established by the World Chinese Economic Forum in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
aimed at facilitating trade between
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...
and the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
. In December 2013, So was appointed by the
Chinese government The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...
as a special advisor to the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese.


Background

So was born in
British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...
on 2 October 1946. When he was 17 years old, he moved to Melbourne and completed his secondary education at University High School. He then went on to tertiary studies, obtaining a Diploma of Education and
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree from 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 ...
. After graduating, he taught
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
at Fitzroy High School. So became a business operator in 1973, with interests across
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
. So's political career has included positions as director of
Asia Society The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...
's AustralAsia Centre, commissioner of Victoria Ethics Affairs Commission, director of Melbourne Water, honorary member of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change, former executive member of the Committee For Melbourne, president of the Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund, chairman of the Asia Pacific Racing Carnival and chairman of the Victorian Chinese Welfare Centre. So is actively involved in Australia's major sporting events. He was the number-one ticket holder for the
Melbourne Demons The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...
football club and number-one ticket holder for the
Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...
soccer club.


Politics

In 1991, So contested politics for the first time and was elected as one of the councillors of the
City of Melbourne The City of Melbourne is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the Melbourne central business district, central city area of Melbourne. In 2021, the city has an area of and had a populati ...
. He was re-elected in 1996 and 1999. In 1999, So came within one vote of being elected Lord Mayor, losing 4–5 to Peter Costigan. In 2001, the
Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...
dismissed the Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor and councillors for ongoing infighting that resulted in the council's inability to function. The government immediately reformed the system to give the Lord Mayor a stronger mandate. Under the new system, the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor were to be directly elected by the citizens in a US presidential-style election, as opposed to being elected in-house among the councillors.


First term as Lord Mayor, 2001–2004

In the 2001 Lord Mayoral election, So polled 14.9% of the primary vote, second only to Peter Sheppard, who received 15.2%, but after preferences were distributed, So comfortably defeated Sheppard. So also defeated the then-
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Steve Bracks's preferred candidate, Peter McMullin, and former federal minister and
Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party splinter groups, it was Australia's lar ...
founder Don Chipp. So presided over a prosperous term in which Melbourne was voted World's Most Livable City on more than one occasion. Along with television presenter Livinia Nixon, he was the face of the "That's Melbourne" campaign to encourage
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
to the city. He campaigned against crime and was a member of the Police Minister's Crime Prevention Council. He also pushed for the
federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
to build a national indigenous museum in Melbourne. So was criticised for his communication skills, partly due to his heavily
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
- accented English. A restaurant with ties to So was also fined $75,000 for breaches of the Food Safety Act by his own council. In 2002, So was accused of putting his relationship with the Chinese government ahead of Melbourne by refusing to meet the
Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣 识一切 瓦齐尔达喇 达赖 喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...
during his Australian visit. The council was also punished by the
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) was formed by the ''Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act'' 1998 in the state of Victoria, Australia. As part of the Victorian Justice system the tribunal sits 'below' the Magistra ...
for prohibiting Falun Gong from participating in the city's annual Moomba parade.


Second term as Lord Mayor, 2004–2008


2004 election

Though he had been a relatively popular mayor, So was widely expected to be defeated at the 2004 election. Despite this, he polled well on election day, achieving 42.2% of the primary vote (compared to his nearest rival who received 9.2%), and was re-elected. So's ticket for the Councillor positions was also successful, winning a historic majority in the
Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
.


Commonwealth Games

During the
2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...
, So was warmly welcomed by Melbourne as a
figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...
of the city. This led to "John So, he's our bro'.
T-shirts
and "John So for PM'" shirts and stickers being manufactured and worn by some Melburnians as a testament to the city's tolerance and
multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
. At the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games, at every mention of So's name, there was a tremendous applause from the crowd, which became progressively louder with each occurrence.


Planning and development

So presided over a number of major developments throughout his second term. The most significant of these include the refurbishment of the city's key shopping complex, the
Melbourne Central Shopping Centre Melbourne Central is a large shopping centre, office, and public transport hub in the Melbourne central business district, central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The main tower is high, making it one of the List of talle ...
; construction of the council's second building,
Council House 2 Council House 2 (also known as CH2), is an office building located at 240 Little Collins Street in the Melbourne central business district, Australia. It is used by the City of Melbourne council, and in April 2005, became the first purpose-built ...
, the first Six Green Star-rated building in Australia; development, in partnership with the
State Government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
, of the new Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre; and refurbishment of Melbourne's key shopping precinct Bourke Street Mall. During So's term, the council also regained from the State Government jurisdiction over Melbourne's new waterfront, Melbourne Docklands.


Controversies

In 2007, So was criticised for redundancies of staff at the Melbourne City Council after an efficiency review found that the council had a A$4.2 million budget discrepancy. So used his
casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...
to defeat a "vote of no confidence" by opposition councillors over the incident. Following the vote, opposition councillors stepped up their attack and criticised So for not meeting with the
Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣 识一切 瓦齐尔达喇 达赖 喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...
during the latter's 2007 visit, and claimed So had also tried to stop them from meeting the Dalai Lama.


World Mayor

So's popularity in office resulted in him being named
World Mayor World Mayor is a biennial award organized by the City Mayors Foundation since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of c ...
for 2006. He won the contest ahead of
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
Mayor
Job Cohen Marius Job Cohen (born 18 October 1947) is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as List of mayors of Amsterdam, Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and Leader of the Labour Party (Netherlands), Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from ...
and
Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...
Mayor Stephen R. Reed. World Mayor cited, amongst other things, the successful staging of the 2006 Commonwealth Games and So's popularity among the young population of Melbourne as a reason for his victory. In its verdict, the judging panel described So as "possibly the first city leader to enjoy 'cult status. So told the media he was "delighted to be elected" and that "the honour belongs to the amazing people of this wonderful city and the hard-working team at the City of Melbourne".


Retirement as Lord Mayor

Speculation had been rife that So was preparing to stand for the Lord Mayoral election in November 2008. Rumours surfaced that former Victoria Premier
Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian former politician who served as the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, Leader of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1982 to 1989 and from 1991 to 1999, and the Member for ...
might be able to challenge So effectively and Kennett confirmed that several
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 ...
members had approached him on this matter. In late September 2008, Kennett announced that he would not run for Lord Mayor. On 1 October 2008, So officially announced that he would not seek re-election, stating "you can't work at 110 percent forever and that is what this job requires."


Honours and positions

In 2006, So was named
World Mayor World Mayor is a biennial award organized by the City Mayors Foundation since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of c ...
ahead of other candidates including
Job Cohen Marius Job Cohen (born 18 October 1947) is a retired Dutch politician and jurist who served as List of mayors of Amsterdam, Mayor of Amsterdam from 2001 to 2010 and Leader of the Labour Party (Netherlands), Leader of the Labour Party (PvdA) from ...
, Ray Nagin,
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...
and
Shintaro Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer, who served as the Governor of Tokyo Metropolis, Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the Far-right politics, radical right Sunrise Party, later merged with Toru Hashimoto's Japan ...
. In 2006, So was among eleven recipients of the You Bring Charm to the World Award, presented at
Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...
in Beijing. The award was jointly sponsored by
Phoenix Television Phoenix Television is a majority State-owned enterprise, state-owned television network that offers Standard Chinese, Mandarin and Cantonese-language channels that serve mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and other markets with substantial C ...
,
Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet services and artificial intelligence. It holds a dominant position in China's search engine market (via Baidu Search), and provides a wide variety of o ...
, and Beijing Youth Daily and recognised the achievements of the "most influential Chinese in 2006". In 2007, So received an honorary degree of Doctor of the University from Victoria University, in recognition of his services to local government. In 2010, So was appointed as one of the six panel members of the
Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...
World City Prize Council. In 2011, So was a recipient of the World Chinese Economic Forum Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013, So was awarded the Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop Asia Medal. On the Queen's Birthday in 2014, So was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for "distinguished service to local government and community relations, as an ambassador for cultural diversity, and to the promotion of Melbourne as a tourist and investment destination". So is also a Member of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change.


Personal life

So has been married twice and has four children. His partner, Wendy Cheng, served as the Lady Mayoress of Melbourne and chaired the Lady Mayoress' Committee between 2001 and 2008. So's youngest son, John So Jnr, an investment banker and businessman, ran unsuccessfully to be elected as Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne alongside Australia
Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
CEO, Gary Singer, in the 2012 Melbourne City Council Elections. Singer was previously Deputy Lord Mayor while John So Snr was in office. So supports the
Melbourne Demons The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...
in the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
.


References


External links


John So – Official WebsiteJohn So No. 1 World MayorWCEF Global Business Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:So, John Mayors and lord mayors of Melbourne Businesspeople from Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni Hong Kong emigrants to Australia 1946 births Living people People educated at University High School, Melbourne Politicians from Melbourne Officers of the Order of Australia Australian politicians of Asian descent 21st-century mayors of places in Australia