imported>Citation bot: Altered title. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Spinixster | Category:University of Queensland alumni | #UCB_Category 226/748

2025-01-07T16:42:07Z

Altered title. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Spinixster | Category:University of Queensland alumni | #UCB_Category 226/748

New page

{{Short description|Australian politician (1938–2021)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
|name = Jim Fouras
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|sep=,|AM}}
|image =
|predecessor = [[Kev Lingard]]
|successor = [[Neil Turner (Australian politician)|Neil Turner]]
|office1 = Member of the [[Queensland Parliament]] for [[South Brisbane]]
|term_start1 = 12 November 1977
|term_end1 = 1 November 1986
|predecessor1 = [[Colin Lamont (politician)|Colin Lamont]]
|successor1 = [[Anne Warner (politician)|Anne Warner]]
|office2 = Member of the [[Queensland Parliament]] for [[Ashgrove, Queensland|Ashgrove]]
|term_start2 = 2 December 1989
|term_end2 = 9 September 2006
|predecessor2 = [[Alan Sherlock]]
|successor2 = [[Kate Jones]]
|office = [[Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland]]
|term_start = 27 February 1990
|term_end = 2 April 1996
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1938|3|8|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Kalavryta]], [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|11|12|1938|3|8|df=y}}
|death_place = [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]], Australia
|restingplace =
|birthname = Demetrios Fouras
|nationality =
|party = [[Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch)|Labor]]
|otherparty =
|spouse =
| alma_mater = [[University of Queensland]]
| occupation = [[Chemist]]
| relations =
}}

'''Demetrios''' "'''Jim'''" '''Fouras''', {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} (8 March 1938 – 12 November 2021) was an Australian politician. He was [[Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland]].

==Early life==
Born in Manesi, [[Kalavryta]], Greece, he migrated to [[Queensland]] at the age of ten with his brother.<ref name=":1" /> His knowledge of English was poor and he knew less than 100 words.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Kokkinidis |first=Tasos |date=30 March 2022 |title=Jim Fouras: The First Greek-Born Member of an Australian Parliament |url=https://greekreporter.com/2022/03/30/queensland-honors-jim-fouras/ |work=Greek Reporter}}</ref> He received his secondary education at [[The Southport School]] and was awarded the school's chemistry prize.<ref name=qp /> He attended the [[University of Queensland]] and graduated with a [[Bachelor of Science]] (1963) and a [[Bachelor of Economics]] (1972).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cameron |first1=Fiona |title=Queen's Birthday Honours recognise UQ alumni |url=http://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2014/06/queens-birthday-honours-recognise-uq-alumni |publisher=[[University of Queensland]] |accessdate=30 May 2015 |date=10 June 2014 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530224426/http://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2014/06/queens-birthday-honours-recognise-uq-alumni |archivedate=30 May 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Fouras was a research chemist and then a marketing economist with the Department of Primary Industries.<ref name=qp />

==Politics==
{{Moresources|section|date=September 2022}}
In 1977, Fouras was elected to the [[Legislative Assembly of Queensland]] as the [[Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch)|Labor]] member for [[Electoral district of South Brisbane|South Brisbane]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Remembering the "first Greek-born member of an Australian parliament" |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/greek/en/article/remembering-the-first-greek-born-member-of-an-australian-parliament/4vqr8xcut |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=SBS Language |language=en}}</ref> He held the seat until 1986, when he was defeated for preselection by [[Anne Warner (politician)|Anne Warner]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Brisbane - QLD Electorate, Candidates, Results |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/qld/2015/guide/sbri |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=abc.net.au |language=en-AU}}</ref> He returned to the Assembly in 1989, winning the seat of [[Electoral district of Ashgrove|Ashgrove]], which he held until his retirement in 2006.<ref name=":0" /> Fouras was [[Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland|Speaker of the Legislative Assembly]] from 1990 to 1996.<ref name=qp>{{cite web |title=Former Members |publisher=[[Parliament of Queensland]] |year=2015 |url=http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/members/former/bio?id=2385835525 |accessdate=4 February 2015 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204095828/http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/members/former/bio?id=2385835525 |archivedate=4 February 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> He is noted for being the first Greek-Australian to serve as speaker of an Australian parliament.<ref name=":0" />

Fouras' tenure as Speaker would have ended earlier in 1995 when he was not renominated by the [[Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch)|Labor]] [[caucus]] as its candidate for Speaker, choosing instead [[Henry Palaszczuk]]. The party had just been re-elected to government at the [[1995 Queensland state election]] with a one-seat majority.

The dumping of Fouras as Speaker by his ALP colleagues raised the prospect of him being re-elected with the support of the [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]], as he would have had the numbers to beat Palaszczuk on the floor of Parliament.

Fearing that outcome, the ALP withdrew Palaszczuk's candidacy for Speaker and Fouras was re-elected with the support of his ALP colleagues. Upon his re-election as Speaker, the Coalition claimed that even if the ALP had not reversed its decision on Fouras, he would have been re-elected over Palaszczuk, not just with the support of the Coalition but also some ALP MPs. The claim that some ALP members would have broken the party line to support Fouras has been disputed by the ALP.

During this renewed tenure as Speaker, [[Independent (politician)|Independent]] [[Liz Cunningham]] mostly sided with the Coalition in parliamentary votes. With the government having a one-seat majority, on those occasions Fouras as Speaker had to use his casting vote in order for the government to win the [[division of the assembly|division]]. Fouras' casting vote had not been required previously because before the 1995 election the Government had had a 19-seat majority.

In February 1996, the ALP lost its one-seat majority after the loss of the [[1996 Mundingburra state by-election|Mundingburra by-election]] and the [[Goss Ministry|Goss Government]] resigned its commission. Fouras likewise resigned as Speaker.

He remained involved in politics, campaigning for [[Jonty Bush]] in 2021.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2021-11-18 |title=Vale Jim Fouras, a presence felt from Kalavryta to Ashgrove |url=https://neoskosmos.com/en/2021/11/18/news/community/vale-jim-fouras-a-presence-felt-from-kalavryta-to-ashgrove/ |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=NEOS KOSMOS |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Fouras married Maria, with whom he had three children Yanoula, Athanasi and Andreas. Fouras later married Tanya.<ref name=":2" /> Fouras died from a heart attack on 12 November 2021 at the age of 83 in Brisbane, Queensland.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-11-18|title=Vale Jim Fouras, a presence felt from Kalavryta to Ashgrove|language=en|work=[[Neos Kosmos (newspaper)|Neos Kosmos]]|url=https://neoskosmos.com/en/2021/11/18/news/community/vale-jim-fouras-a-presence-felt-from-kalavryta-to-ashgrove/|access-date=2021-11-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Garcia|first=Jocelyn|date=2021-11-14|title='Thoroughly decent human being': Former Qld Speaker Jim Fouras dies|language=en|work=[[Brisbane Times]]|url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/thoroughly-decent-human-being-former-qld-speaker-jim-fouras-dies-20211114-p598sp.html|access-date=2021-11-26}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au-qld}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kev Lingard]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland|Speaker of the Legislative Assembly]]|years=1990–1996}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Neil Turner (Australian politician)|Neil Turner]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Colin Lamont (politician)|Colin Lamont]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Electoral district of South Brisbane|South Brisbane]]|years=1977–1986}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Anne Warner (politician)|Anne Warner]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Alan Sherlock]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Electoral district of Ashgrove|Ashgrove]]|years=1989–2006}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kate Jones]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fouras, Jim}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Kalavryta]]
[[Category:Greek emigrants to Australia]]
[[Category:Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Speakers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:University of Queensland alumni]]
[[Category:People educated at the Southport School]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian politicians]]

Jim Fouras - Revision history

imported>Citation bot: Altered title. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Spinixster | Category:University of Queensland alumni | #UCB_Category 226/748