John So

John Chun Sai So (, ; born 2 October 1946) is a Hong Kong Australian businessman who served as the 102nd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Australia.

He was the first Lord Mayor in the city's history to be directly elected by voters; previously, Lord Mayors were elected by the councillors.

He is also the first Lord Mayor of Melbourne of Chinese descent.

So was born in British Hong Kong on 2 October 1946.

When he was 17 years old, he moved to Melbourne and completed his secondary education at University High School.

He then went on to tertiary studies, obtaining a Diploma of Education and Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Melbourne.

After graduating, he taught physics at Fitzroy High School.

So became a business operator in 1973, with interests across Australia, Hong Kong and Mainland China.

So's political career has included positions as director of Asia Society's AustralAsia Centre, commissioner of Victoria Ethics Affairs Commission, director of Melbourne Water, honorary member of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change, former executive member of the Committee For Melbourne, president of the Lord Mayor's Charitable Fund, chairman of the Asia Pacific Racing Carnival and chairman of the Victorian Chinese Welfare Centre.

So is actively involved in Australia's major sporting events.

He was the number-one ticket holder for the Melbourne Demons football club and number-one ticket holder for the Melbourne Victory soccer club.

In 1991, So contested politics for the first time and was elected as one of the councillors of the City of Melbourne.

He was re-elected in 1996 and 1999.

In 1999, So came within one vote of being elected Lord Mayor, losing 4–5 to Peter Costigan.

First elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2004, So is the second-longest-serving Lord Mayor of Melbourne, serving for seven and a half years.

In 2001, the Victorian Government dismissed the Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor and councillors for ongoing infighting that resulted in the council's inability to function.

The government immediately reformed the system to give the Lord Mayor a stronger mandate.

Under the new system, the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor were to be directly elected by the citizens in a US presidential-style election, as opposed to being elected in-house among the councillors.

In the 2001 Lord Mayoral election, So polled 14.9% of the primary vote, second only to Peter Sheppard, who received 15.2%, but after preferences were distributed, So comfortably defeated Sheppard.

So also defeated the then-Premier Steve Bracks's preferred candidate, Peter McMullin, and former federal minister and Australian Democrats founder Don Chipp.

So presided over a prosperous term in which Melbourne was voted World's Most Livable City on more than one occasion.

Along with television presenter Livinia Nixon, he was the face of the "That's Melbourne" campaign to encourage tourism to the city.

He campaigned against crime and was a member of the Police Minister's Crime Prevention Council.

He also pushed for the federal government to build a national indigenous museum in Melbourne.

So was criticised for his communication skills, partly due to his heavily Cantonese-accented English.

A restaurant with ties to So was also fined $75,000 for breaches of the Food Safety Act by his own council.

In 2002, So was accused of putting his relationship with the Chinese government ahead of Melbourne by refusing to meet the Dalai Lama during his Australian visit.

The council was also punished by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for prohibiting Falun Gong from participating in the city's annual Moomba parade.

Though he had been a relatively popular mayor, So was widely expected to be defeated at the 2004 election.

Despite this, he polled well on election day, achieving 42.2% of the primary vote (compared to his nearest rival who received 9.2%), and was re-elected.

So's ticket for the Councillor positions was also successful, winning a historic majority in the Town Hall.

In 2006, he won the World Mayor award.

During the 2006 Commonwealth Games, So was warmly welcomed by Melbourne as a figurehead of the city.

This led to "John So, he's our bro'."

T-shirts and "John So for PM'" shirts and stickers being manufactured and worn by some Melburnians as a testament to the city's tolerance and multiculturalism.

At the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games, at every mention of So's name, there was a tremendous applause from the crowd, which became progressively louder with each occurrence.

On 1 October 2008, So announced that he would not seek re-election for a third term as Lord Mayor.

He was succeeded by Robert Doyle.

So currently serves as chairman of the Global Business Council, an international forum established by the World Chinese Economic Forum in Malaysia aimed at facilitating trade between China, India, ASEAN and the Middle East.

In December 2013, So was appointed by the Chinese government as a special advisor to the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese.