Jon Stanhope

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Jon Stanhope (born 1951) is the current Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, representing the Australian Labor Party.

Stanhope was born in Gundagai, New South Wales but moved down the road to Canberra to study at the Australian National University. After graduation from his law degree he became a legal officer for the public service and a staffer for a number of senior ALP figures, including then-leader Kim Beazley

In 1998 Stanhope was elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly and immediately became party leader. Stanhope played a major role in the downfall of Kate Carnell's Liberal government, concentrating heavily on her involvement in the Bruce Stadium affair.

Stanhope was elected ACT Chief Minister in 2001 when Labor won 8 of the 17 seats in the Assembly, and came within 300 votes of winning a 9th, which would have granted majority government for the first time in ACT history.

Stanhope's handling of the 2003 bushfires was lauded from many sectors of the community. He made headlines later in the year when he personally jumped from a helicopter into a dam to save the pilot of another helicopter which had crashed into the water. With a very high approval rating, Stanhope is expected to easily win the forthcoming ACT election in October 2004, possibly with a majority.