Kon Vatskalis
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The Right Worshipful The Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis |
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|---|---|
| Lord Mayor of Darwin | |
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Assumed office 4 September 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Katrina Fong Lim |
| Member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly for Casuarina |
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In office 18 August 2001 – 18 September 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Peter Adamson |
| Succeeded by | Lauren Moss |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Konstantine Vatskalis 4 April 1957 Cephalonia, Greece |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Linda Cotton Margaret Vatskalis / Aihong Yu |
Konstantine Vatskalis (born 4 April 1957) is a Greek-Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from September 2001 to October 2014, representing the Darwin-based electorate of Casuarina. He was Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Defence Support, Minister for Sport and Recreation, Minister for Essential Services, Minister for Health, Minister for Mines and Energy, Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries and Minister for Children and Families.
On 30 July 2014, Vatskalis announced that he would be resigning from the Legislative Assembly at the end of the August sittings, which triggered a 2014 Casuarina by-election.
In the 2017 local government elections in the Northern Territory, Vatskalis was elected Lord Mayor of Darwin.
Vatskalis was born in Greece, and studied public health in Athens. He became involved in student politics while there, becoming a student representative at the Athens Higher Vocational School and taking part in the 1970s pro-democracy protests, where he witnessed people being arrested for speaking freely. He married an Australian woman, Linda Cotton in 1982, and in 1983, they emigrated to Western Australia. Once they had arrived in Perth, Vatskalis found that his Greek qualifications were not recognised, and was forced to start again, beginning a degree in environmental health at Curtin University, where he also joined the Australian Labor Party. After graduating in 1985, he worked as an environmental health officer and surveyor in the Western Australian towns of Port Hedland and Wanneroo from 1986 to 1993. This period was also marked by personal tragedy, however; his wife died in 1988. In 1992, not long before leaving Western Australia, Vatskalis completed post-graduate studies this time in environmental science from Murdoch University.
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