Barry Jones AC (b. 1932) is a politician, lawyer and writer. He was educated at the University of Melbourne and worked as a public servant and high school teacher before rising to fame as Australia's Quiz champion from 1960 to 1968. He became the country's first talk-back radio host, then lectured in History at La Trobe University before becoming a State Labor MP in 1972. Throughout the 1970s he took a leading role in reviving the Australian film industry. He entered federal parliament in 1977 as the member for Labor; between 1983 and 1990 he held the portfolios of Science, Prices and Consumer Affairs, Small Business and Customs. He was a member of the executive board of UNESCO in Paris from 1991 to 1995, was National President of the Australian Labor Party from 1992 to 2000, Vice President of the World Heritage Committee from 1995 to 1996, and was Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Convention in 1998. Jones has written a number of influential books, of which the best known are the international best-seller Sleepers, Wake!: Technology and the Future of Work, and the Dictionary of World Biography.
In 1993 Jones was recognised as an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to the promotion of science, the arts and film, writing and Australian politics, in 1998 he became a National Living Treasure; and in 2014 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia.
Purchased with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC, Allan Myers AC KC and Maria Myers AC 2022
© Louise Hearman
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