The Honourable Andrew Thomson |
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Minister for Sport and Tourism | |
In office 9 October 1997 – 21 October 1998 |
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Preceded by |
Warwick Smith (Sport) Michael Lee (Tourism) |
Succeeded by | Jackie Kelly |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Wentworth |
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In office 8 April 1995 – 8 October 2001 |
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Preceded by | John Hewson |
Succeeded by | Peter King |
Personal details | |
Born |
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
7 January 1961
Nationality | Australian |
Political party | Liberal Party of Australia |
Relations | Peter Thomson (father) |
Alma mater |
University of Melbourne Keio University Georgetown University Law Center |
Profession | Solicitor |
Andrew Peter Thomson (born 7 January 1961), Australian politician, is a former Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Wentworth in New South Wales.
Thomson is the son of Australian golfer Peter Thomson, and worked as a solicitor, investment banker and golf course designer before entering politics. He was educated at the University of Melbourne (Arts/Law), Keio University in Tokyo, and later at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC. He entered parliament in April 1995 in a Wentworth by-election after Dr John Hewson vacated the seat when he retired from politics after being defeated in a leadership ballot by Alexander Downer.
When the Coalition took government at the 1996 election, Thomson was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. On 6 October 1997 he became Minister for Sport and Tourism, and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Sydney 2000 Games. Thomson was the first Member of the House of Representatives to speak fluent Japanese and Chinese.
Thomson retired from the seat of Wentworth in 2001 after losing preselection. Thereafter he worked in Washington DC after passing the New York Bar Exam, then later joined Minter Ellison in Australia as Special Counsel. He worked in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, and Beijing before returning to live in Tokyo in early 2011 where he had worked in his twenties. Currently he is registered as a foreign lawyer in Japan and has his own practice in the city of Fukuoka.