John Pesutto is the Liberal Candidate for Hawthorn at this year’s state election in November. John has an extensive record of service in government, the community and public policy. Most recently, he has been a Senior Fellow at Melbourne University’s School of Government.
From 2014 to 2018, John was Victoria’s Shadow Attorney General and the Member for Hawthorn in the Victorian Parliament. Prior to elective politics, John worked as Counsel to Premier Denis Napthine, Chief of Staff to the Health Minister and as a Senior Advisor to Premier Ted Baillieu. This was preceded by a period during which John operated his own consultancy with a focus on advising government departments and public sector agencies on governance and performance issues.
As a lawyer (graduating from the University of Melbourne in 1994 with commerce and law degrees), John spent many years in private legal practice with a focus on industrial relations and employment matters.
John regularly appears in the media and has in recent years appeared regularly on TV, radio and as a fortnightly columnist for The Age. Living in Camberwell, he is married to Betty and they have three daughters.