John Martin (Georgeland politician)

John Andrew Martin (18 May 1933 - 16 Jun 2005) was a Georgeland politician, lawyer, diplomat and author who served in a number of significant Cabinet  positions through the 1970s to the 1990s. Beginning his career as an agricutural lawyer for the Department of Industry, Martin became active in the Labour Party in his twenties and was elected to the Senate  representing Long Island in 1966. From 1972 to 1974 he was Minister for Mining and Energy, a junior portfolio, in the governments of Victor Martin and Bradley Van Goen. In March 1974 he was promoted to Cabinet as Minister for Trade &amp; Industry, and moved to Agriculture, his passion, in May 1975. At the same time, he became Deputy Leader of Labour in the Senate. When Labour was defeated at the 1979 election, Martin was appointed Shadow Minister for Agriculture, and returned to Cabinet after the Labour victory in December 1983. He continued in the Quarton ministry as Agriculture minister before being promoted to his highest position, Minister for Defence, in the reshuffle following the election of April 1987. Martin retired at the 1991 election, but continued to serve as Defence Minister for two weeks following the expiration of his senate term on 1 January 1992. He did this in order to give his successor, Steve James, time to recover from a coronary bypass. Following his retirement from politics, Martin became a successful author, publishing three works on politics and law, and one on agriculture policy. In 1997 he became Chancellor of the University of Long Island, an honorary position, and in 2000 was appointed High Commissioner to India, a position he held until 2005. Three months after retiring from office, Martin died of a heart attack at the age of 72.