John Eren

John Hamdi Eren (born March 15, 1964) is an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 2002 to 2006, representing Geelong Province. He is currently a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly representing the electoral district of Lara

Eren was born in İzmir, Turkey. He came to Australia in 1970 and studied at a high school in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. He has worked in a number of different fields, including on an assembly line in a car factory, as a security officer, small business owner and administrative assistant. In 1997, he took on a position as an electorate officer for then-federal shadow environment minister Kelvin Thomson, which he held until receiving Labor preselection for the seat of Geelong Province at the 2002 election.

Though it was widely thought that he would face a difficult contest against Liberal sitting member and shadow minister Ian Cover, Eren won comfortably, which reflected a landslide swing to Labor across the state. His first term in parliament has seen him as a relatively low-profile backbencher, serving on the Road Safety Committee. He won the Legislative Assembly electorate of Lara at the 2006 state election, after long-serving MP Peter Loney retired. Loney stepped down when it became clear that Eren had more factional support and would win any preselection challenge.

Eren is the brother of former Labor MP Tayfun Eren.

ee also

*Turks in Australia