Nicholas Reece (born 1974) is an Australian politician and policy activist, currently serving as the 105th Lord Mayor 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 is a senior executive 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 ...

and a principal fellow at the Melbourne School of Government. He is the chair of the board of directors at the

Movember Foundation Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of Men's Health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. It is a portmanteau of the Australian-Engli ...

, and a commentator at

Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs fe ...

. He previously held a number of roles in politics, including as secretary and campaign director of the

Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch) The Victorian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as Victorian Labor, is the Victoria (Australia), Victorian state branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The party ...

and as the director of strategy to former Prime Minister

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

. Reece's early career included time working as a lawyer at

Maurice Blackburn Maurice McCrae Blackburn (19 November 1880 – 31 March 1944) was an Australian politician and socialist lawyer, noted for his protection of the interests of workers and the establishment of the legal firm known as Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. ...

and as a journalist at

The Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...

Political career

Labor Party

Until 2012, Reece held a number of roles as a ministerial staffer and

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 ...

executive, including: * State Secretary and Campaign Director of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Labor Party * Senior Adviser to Prime Minister Julia Gillard (Director of Strategy) * Senior Adviser to Premier

John Brumby John Mansfield Brumby (born 21 April 1953) is the current Chancellor of La Trobe University and former Victorian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became leader of the Victorian Labor Party and premier ...

(Deputy Chief of Staff, Head of Policy) * Senior Adviser to Premier

Steve Bracks Stephen Phillip Bracks (born 15 October 1954) is a former Australian politician and was the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Labor Party and was party leader and premier from 1999 t ...

(Press Secretary, Senior Economic Adviser) * Adviser, Policy Unit, Leader of the Opposition

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

, 2007

Melbourne City Council

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, Reece was elected as a councillor to the

Melbourne City Council The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2021, the city has an area of and had a population of 149,615. The city's motto is "''vires acquirit eundo''" which ...

as a member of Team Doyle. Reece joined Team Sally Capp for the 2020 election, and he was elected as Deputy Lord Mayor. On 2 July 2024, following the resignation of Sally Capp, Reece was sworn in as 105th Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne. In the

2024 Melbourne City Council election The 2024 Melbourne City Council election was held on 26 October 2024 to elect nine councillors and a leadership team (consisting of a List of mayors and lord mayors of Melbourne, lord mayor and List of mayors and lord mayors of Melbourne, deputy ...

, Reece retained his position as Lord Mayor, winning 23.36% of primary votes cast and winning 61.49% of the two-candidate-preferred vote.

Media career

Reece is a political commentator on Sky News and was the host of ''Politics HQ'' between 2017 and 2019. Reece also writes a regular column for ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

''. In 2015, Reece appeared in the award-winning documentary '' The Killing Season'', which recounted the leadership struggles between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard between 2010 and 2013.

Personal life

Reece was born in London in 1974. His exact date of birth was unknown. Reece is a supporter of the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...

, resides in Carlton, is married to Felicity and has three daughters. His wife is Greek. In 2004, he was one of the original 'mo-bros' who got together to raise funds for the

. Since then, Movember has raised almost $1 billion for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's mental health. Reece has served as a Non-Executive Director on the Movember Foundation Board of Directors since the establishment of the Board in 2007. Reece was a founding director for the street newspaper

The Big Issue ''The Big Issue'' is a United Kingdom–based street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer ho ...

, a role he served in for 10 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reece, Nicholas Victoria (state) local councillors University of Melbourne people Sky News Australia reporters and presenters Fairfax Media 1974 births Living people Mayors and lord mayors of Melbourne 21st-century mayors of places in Australia