John Watson (Australian politician)

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John Odin Wentworth Watson (born 25 January 1937) is an Australian politician who has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since July 1978, representing the state of Tasmania. Since July 2005 he has been the longest-serving member of the Senate.

Watson was born in Launceston and educated at the University of Tasmania, where he graduated in economics and accountancy. He was a chartered accountant, company director and lecturer in accountancy before entering politics.

Watson was a member of the Coalition Shadow Ministry from 1990 to 1994 but has never held ministerial office. He is however one of the Senate's leading experts on taxation and superannuation matters and is highly regarded by his Coalition colleagues. He was expected to announce his retirement at the 2007 election, but decided to apply for preselection, despite being 70 years of age.

On 12 May 2007, Watson was defeated in his bid for preselection after his decision to recontest sparked anger within the party.

[edit] External links

• Official Senate Website from The Parliament of Australia
• Watson dumped from Liberal Party senate ticket from ABC News Online

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Persondata
NAME	Watson, John Odin Wentworth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH	21 January 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH	Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
DATE OF DEATH	living
PLACE OF DEATH