Theo Theophanous

Theo Charles Theophanous is a Cypriot Australian who was born on 16 June 1948 in Cyprus and emigrated to Melbourne Australia in 1954. He grew up in Broadmeadows and attended Glenroy High School. Theophanous worked as a Branch Manager for the Gas and Fuel Corporation in the 1970s. In 1980 he attended La Trobe University where he completed a double honours degree in Politics and Sociology achieving First Class Honours. He subsequently tutored at La Trobe University in both Politics and Sociology. He is Greek Orthodox. ==Political career==

Cain-Kirner years (1988–1992) Theo Theophanous was first elected to Victorian Parliament in October 1988 with the re-election of the Cain Government. He served as the Chair of the Economic & Budget Committee before being appointed as Minister for Consumer Affairs and Minister for Small Business under the Kirner Government. He introduced Sunday Trading and Consumer Protection Legislation. He is the first Minister of Greek background in the Victorian Parliament. Kennett years (1992–1999) Theo Theophanous served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Victorian Legislative Council from 1993 to 1999. Theophanous also serves as Shadow Minister for WorkCover, and led the opposition to Kennett government changes. Theophanous authored the "Economic and financial management of Victoria under Labor" analysis, which recommended financial management principles that were adopted by the ALP in the lead up to the 1999 election. Bracks years (1999–2007) During the first term of the Bracks Labor Government, Theo Theophanous served as Parliamentary Secretary for Education, Employment and Training, and Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation, Industry, and Regional Development. and the Basslink Electricity Connection between Victoria and Tasmania during this time. Brumby years (2007–2010) During the Brumby Government between 2007 and his resignation as a Minister in December 2008, Theo Theophanous was Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Major Projects and Minister for Information, Communication and Technology. Theophanous was the Minister responsible for the construction of the Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, the Melbourne Convention Centre, the supercomputer at Melbourne University and the La Trobe University Research Centre. Theophanous developed the airline industry in Victoria through the introduction of Etihad Airways, Tiger Airways, Qatar Airways, and Emirates flights to Melbourne. ==Exit from politics==

In December 2008 Theo Theophanous resigned as a Minister in the Brumby Government as a result of impending court proceedings based on an allegation by a woman living in Greece of an incident of rape 10 years earlier. Theophanous subsequently asked the Greek authorities to pursue charges of criminal defamation against the complainant in an Athens court, claiming the woman had concocted the allegation in an attempt to gain financial benefit. The court found the complainant guilty and sentenced her to 3 years jail (suspended). An appeal was filed in October 2010 which was subsequently heard in a superior Athens court, however the original conviction for criminal defamation was upheld albeit with a reduced 2 years sentence. Theophanous sought an adjudication from the Australian Press Council in relation to articles published in The Age newspaper which he claimed were false and based in part on an undisclosed conflict of interest by Age journalist Carolyn Webb who was a friend of the complainant. The Australian Press Council upheld the major complaints by Theophanous and their findings were made public on 30 July 2010. The Age newspaper and Victoria Police were subsequently criticised by the Herald Sun. This was followed by further critical comment published by the VexNews website. Theo Theophanous resigned from Parliament in February 2010 after 22 years of public service. ==Post-political career==

Since leaving politics, Theo Theophanous has served on the board of National Information Communication Technology Australia (NICTA) and the Metropolitan Planning Authority (MPA) Board. He was appointed Ambassador on charitable basis for the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute. Theophanous is an active political and social commentator in major Australian newspapers. Theophanous has contributed op-eds in journals such as the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Herald Sun, Cyprus Mail, and Neos Kosmos. In 2023 Theophanous resigned from the board of the Victorian State Trustees after an Independent Broad-based Corruption Commission investigation found he had behaved improperly in lobbying for a Chinese consortium. ==Family==

Theophanous' brother Andrew Theophanous was a former Labor federal politician. Theo's daughter Kat Theophanous is the state Labor member for Northcote since 2018. ==References==