Dr. John Chun Sai So JP (Traditional Chinese: 蘇震西, pinyin: Sū Zhèn Xī; born 2 October 1946 in Hong Kong) is the Lord Mayor of City of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Australia. He was the first Lord Mayor in the city's history to be directly elected by the people; previously, Lord Mayors were elected by the Councillors. In office since 2001, So is currently the longest-serving Lord Mayor of Melbourne. This is a list of the Mayors and Lord Mayors of the City of Melbourne Local Government Area, Melbourne, Australia. ... Open seat redirects here. ... For other uses, see June (disambiguation). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Peter Costigan (born June 21, 1935; died August 5, 2002). ... is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Chinese Australian is an Australian of Chinese heritage. ... JP may refer to: Jayaprakash Narayan, Indian politician and social worker Pope John Paul I, pope of the Catholic Church, August-September 1978 Pope John Paul II, pope of the Catholic Church, 1978-2005 John Petrucci, guitarist and founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater Jonathan Putra, VJ... Traditional Chinese (Traditional Chinese: 正體字/繁體字, Simplified Chinese: 正体字/繁体字) refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of the Mayors and Lord Mayors of the City of Melbourne Local Government Area, Melbourne, Australia. ... Population 67,000 Area 33 km² Mayor Cr John So (Lord Mayor) Electoral Wards none Councillors John So, Gary Singer, Fraser Brindley, Peter Clarke, Carl Jetter, Catherine Ng, Brian Shanahan, Fiona Snedden, David Wilson Capital Melbourne Suburbs/Townships Carlton, Carlton North, Docklands, East Melbourne, Fishermans Bend, Flemington, Hotham Hill, Jolimont... VIC redirects here. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

On 8 June 2007, John So received a Doctor of the University from Victoria University honouring his service in local government. Victoria University may refer to: Victoria University of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh (see www. ...

Background Information

So was born in Hong Kong^[1], China. When he was 17 years old, he moved to Melbourne and completed his secondary education at University High School. He then went on to his tertiary studies, obtaining a Diploma of Education and Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne. During this time, he campaigned strongly against the White Australia Policy and helped found the University's Overseas and Chinese Students Association. After graduating, he taught physics at Fitzroy High School. He became a business operator in 1973 and is renowned for running numerous restaurants and bars in the city, most notably the Dragon Boat Restaurant Group. ^[2] He is known as the '10% man' for having a stake in many of Chinatown's restaurants. The University High School, UHS or Uni High is a state high school located in Melbourne, Australia. ... The University of Melbourne, is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. ... This badge from 1906 shows the use of the expression White Australia at that time The White Australia policy is a generic term used to describe a collection of historical legislation and policies, intended to restrict non-white immigration to Australia, and to promote European immigration, from 1901 to 1973. ... Fitzroy High School Fitzroy High School is a school catering for Years 7 to 12 as of 2007, located in Falconer Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ...

So's political career has included positions as Director of Melbourne Water Corporation, Vice-President of the Melbourne Chinatown Traders' Association, Chairman of the Asia Pacific Racing Carnival and Chairman of the Victorian Chinese Welfare Centre. He is also a Justice of Peace and a Knight of the Order of St John. ^[3] Melbourne Water is the organisation that controls much of the water system in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia including the citys reservoirs, sewerage and drainage system. ... A Justice of the Peace (JP) is a magistrate appointed by a commission to keep the peace, dispense summary justice and deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. ... 19th-Century Commanders Badge, Russian Grand Priory Brother Gerard created the Order of St John of Jerusalem as a distinctive Order from the previous Benedictine establishment of Hospitallers (Рыцари Хоспитоллер). It provided medical care and protection for pilgrims visiting Jerusalem. ...

So is also actively involved in Australia's major sporting events. He is the number one ticketholder for the Melbourne Demons Football Club (Australian Rules Football) and number two ticket holder for Melbourne Victory Football(Soccer) Club. He does not take an interest in rugby, but is an ardent supporter of the Melbourne Storm. Melbourne Football Club logo The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons since 1933, known in their early days as The Redlegs, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League, based in Melbourne, Victoria. ... High marking is a key skill and spectacular attribute of Australian rules football Precise field and goal kicking using the oval shaped ball is the key skill in Australian rules football Australian rules football, also known as Australian football, Aussie rules, or simply football or footy is a code of... Melbourne Victory FC is a football (soccer) club based in Melbourne, Australia. ... The Melbourne Storm are a professional rugby league football club based in the city of Melbourne, Australia. ...

He has been married twice and has four children. His wife, Wendy Cheng, is the Lady Mayoress of Melbourne and chairs the Lady Mayoress' Committee.

First Term as Lord Mayor, 2001-2004

So has generally been a popular Lord Mayor and has been credited for re-establishing confidence and unity in the Town Hall, after a few years of being labelled the 'Clown Hall' for its internal conflicts.

So has been criticised by some sectors over his time as mayor. Some see him as a poor communicator, partly due to his heavily accented English. A restaurant with ties to So was also fined $75,000 for breaches of the Food Safety Act by his own Council.^[4]

In 2002, he snubbed the Dalai Lama during his Australian visit, and it was left to the Geelong Mayor to meet him.^[5] More recently, the Council was punished by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for leaving the Falun Gong out of the city's annual Moomba parade.^[6] Also see: 2002 (number). ... This article is about the Dalai Lama lineage. ... This article is about the Victorian city; the name may also refer to City of Geelong or Geelong city centre. ... Falun Gong, (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally Practice of the Wheel of Law) also known as Falun Dafa, (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; lit. ... For the fictional creature Moomba from the final fantasy series, see http://en. ...

Second Term as Lord Mayor, 2004-present

During his second term, fans of the Lord Mayor have created a web site paying tribute to So's work as Mayor. The web site, http://www.john-so.com.au was created by Melbourne web agency urban expression and features a collection of news articles and images and has becoming increasingly popular over recent times with many fans leaving their wishes for the Mayor.

In 2006, So was among 11 recipients of the 'You Bring Charm to the World' Award, presented at Peking University in Beijing. The Award was jointly sponsored by Phoenix Television, Baidu, and Beijing Youth Daily and recognises the achievements of the 'most influential Chinese in 2006'.^[7] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Peking redirects here. ... Phoenix Television (鳳凰衛星電視) SEHK: 8002 is a Hong Kong-based Mandarin Chinese television broadcaster that aims to promote a free flow of information and entertainment within the Greater China region. ... For the Ilkhanate ruler, see Baydu. ...

World Mayor, 2006

Main article: World Mayor

John So's continued and unprecedented success during his term in office has resulted in him being named World Mayor for 2006 ahead of Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen, who placed second, and Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed who was third. World Mayor cited, amongst other things, the successful staging of the 2006 Commonwealth Games and So's immense popularity among the young population of Melbourne as their reason for choosing So. In its verdict, the judging panel described So as 'possibly the first city leader to enjoy 'cult status'".^[8] World Mayor is a now annual award organised by City Mayors, which intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of cities, nationally and internationally. ... World Mayor is a now annual award organised by City Mayors, which intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of cities, nationally and internationally. ... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... Marius Job Cohen (born 18 October 1947) is the current mayor of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. ... Harrisburg is the name of many places in the United States of America: Harrisburg, Arkansas Harrisburg, Illinois Harrisburg, Missouri Harrisburg, Nebraska Harrisburg, New York Town in Lewis County Hamlet in Cattaraugus County Hamlet in Warren County Harrisburg, North Carolina Harrisburg, Ohio Harrisburg, Oregon Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania state capital and near... Stephen Russell Reed (born 1950) is the current and longest-serving mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. ... The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Australia between March 15 and March 26, 2006. ...

So was humble after the results were revealed: "I am delighted to be elected World Mayor 2006," Mr. So said. In his closing statements to the media, he added "The honour belongs to the amazing people of this wonderful city and the hard working team at the City of Melbourne".^[9]

References

1. ^ "Hong Kong-born Lord Mayor of Melbourne, John So". 
2. ^ "Dragon Boat Restaurant Group Website". 
3. ^ "Councillors - The Right Honourable Lord Mayor John So", City of Melbourne. 
4. ^ "So's campaign for second term trips on a cockroach", The Age, 2004-03-20. 
5. ^ "Melbourne to snub Dalai Lama", ABC News Online, 2002-05-02. 
6. ^ "City Council bans Falun Gong from Moomba", The Age, 2003-02-21. 
7. ^ "Zhang Ziyi Brings Charm to the World", china.org.cn, 2007-04-02. 
8. ^ "John So, Lord Mayor of Melbourne wins the 2006 World Mayor Award", World Mayor, 2006-12-05. 
9. ^ "So good: the world's best mayor", Herald Sun, 2006-12-05. 

Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• John So page on Melbourne Council website
• Lord Mayor Cr John So - The Official, Unofficial Fan Web Site
• John So Is My Bro CD Single
• The John So Birthday Project
• JohnSoIsMyBro.com.au
• John So No. 1 World Mayor