John Richard "Johno" Johnson GCSG (26 July 1930 – 9 August 2017) was an Australian politician. He served as President of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

from 1978 to 1991.

Career

Born in

Murwillumbah Murwillumbah ( ) is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Tweed Shire, on the Tweed River. Sitting on the south eastern foothills of the McPherson Range in the Tweed Volcano valley, Murwillumbah is 848&nbs ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, he was a grocer and trade union official before entering politics. He married Pauline Christina Russell, with whom he adopted two sons and two daughters. He served as director of the

Prince of Wales Hospital Prince of Wales Hospital is a regional acute government hospital located in Sha Tin, New Territories in Hong Kong, China. It is also a teaching hospital of the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Named after Ki ...

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 was chair of the Catholic Newspaper Company, publishers of ''

The Catholic Weekly ''The Catholic Weekly'' is an English language newspaper currently published in Sydney, Australia. It is published in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Throughout its history, it has also been published as ''The Freeman's Journal'' a ...

''. He was also a member of the boards of NSW Lotteries and

Cancer Council Australia Cancer Council Australia is a national, nonprofit organisation which aims to promote cancer-control policies and to reduce the illness caused by cancer in Australia. It advises various groups, including the government, on cancer-related issues, ...

. In 1976, he was elected to the

for the Labor Party, having been Treasurer of the New South Wales party branch. He served as the council's president from 1978 to 1991, and remained a member of the Legislative Council until his resignation in 2001. He was replaced by Michael Costa.

Honours

In 2001, Johnson was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

. He was made a life member of the Labor Party. In 2006, he was created Knight Commander of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

for services to the Church in Australia, and was elevated to Knight Grand Cross by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

in 2016. He was a Fellow of

Warrane College, University of New South Wales Warrane College UNSW is an affiliated residential college at the University of New South Wales, Australia. The name of the college is derived from the Aboriginal word for the Sydney Cove area, "Warrang", highlighting the recognition by Warrane a ...

. Johnson died aged 87 in Sydney on 9 August 2017 and honoured with a state funeral at

St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians, locally known as Saint Mary's Cathedral, is a Catholic basilica and the seat of the Archdiocese of Sydney. The cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Vi ...

that month.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Johno 1930 births 2017 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Presidents of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Australian Roman Catholics 20th-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian politicians Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great