Early life

Kevin Byrne was born in Lae, Papua New Guinea in 1949. After completing primary education in Papua New Guinea, Kevin attended Nudgee College in Brisbane, completing his secondary education in 1967. He was commissioned into the Australian Army in 1969, when he graduated from OCS Portsea (An Officer Cadet School at Portsea, Victoria). He was awarded the Sword of Honour for Leadership in that year. Kevin’s seventeen year military career included overseas postings to Malaya, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Rhodesia and South Vietnam, including postings throughout Australia. He was Mentioned in Despatches for gallantry as a young Infantry Platoon Commander in South Vietnam in 1971. His final military assignment was as a Senior Instructor at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1987. Lae is the second largest city of Papua New Guinea with a population of approx 120,000. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Brisbane (pronounced ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, as well as the third largest city in Australia, with a greater metropolitan population of 1. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... The Australian Army is Australias military land force. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... OCS Portsea is the abbreviated title of the Officer Cadet School of Australia-Portsea. ... A military academy is a military educational institution. ... Portsea is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Map of Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia (Malay: Semenanjung Malaysia) is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula, and shares a land border with Thailand in the north. ... Southern Rhodesia, todays Zimbabwe. ... Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area  - Total  - % water 173,809 km² N/A Population  - Total  - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ... Royal Military College The Royal Military College, Duntroon is Australias military academy where Staff Cadets train for commissioning into the Australian Army as a part of the Australian Defence Force There are two streams of Cadets: from the Australian Defence Force Academy, and by direct entry. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Working life

Kevin Byrne was appointed as Regional Manager, Office of Northern and Regional Development, Cairns on his discharge from the army in 1987. This appointment involved fast tracking regional development projects as well as identifying development and employment opportunities in Far North Queensland and providing the interface between the private sector and the government. He held this appointment for three years before moving to the position of Regional Manager of the Queensland Confederation of Industry, the States largest employer organisation. Map of Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (abreviated to FNQ) is a region of Queensland covering the northern part of the state. ...

In 1992 Kevin Byrne was first elected Mayor of Cairns City. He was re-elected in 1994 before being defeated by Tom Pyne in 1995 following the amalgamation of City of Cairns Council and Mulgrave Shire. Immediately following the 1995 election, Kevin Byrne was recruited to direct the administrative effort of a giant oil spill cleanup operation in the Kolva Basin, Northern Russia. 146,000 tonnes of oil were recovered in the biggest oil spill clean up on record. Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... The City of Cairns Council was a local government region in Far North Queensland, Australia until 1995 when it merged with Mulgrave Shire to become Cairns City Council. ...

In December 1995 Kevin Byrne was appointed Chief Executive of the Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority. He was a member of the national negotiating team for bilateral air service agreements and was Acting Chairman of the National Airline Commission for two years as well as Deputy Chairman of AIR NIUGINI for eighteen months. His contract with the Papua New Guinea Government concluded in December 1999 and he then returned to Cairns. Kevin Byrne was re-elected as Mayor of Cairns on 25 March 2000 and again in March 2004.

He attained a Master of Arts (Business Administration) with first class honours in 1993. In his current role he is patron to a number of community, cultural and sporting organisations.

Kevin Byrne is married to Amanda and they have a daughter Isabel. They live in Cairns in Redlynch Valley.

External Links

Cr Kevin Byrne information on Cairns City Council website