John Warhurst AO is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University in Canberra where he was Professor of Political Science from 1993–2008. Before that he was Professor of Politics at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW, from 1985–1993. He has been a weekly columnist for The Canberra Times since 1998. He also writes occasionally for The Footy Almanac and is a member of both the Adelaide Crows and the GWS Giants. He has been chair of the Australian Republican Movement (2002–2005), campaigning for an Australian Head of State for Australia, and Deputy Chair of Catholic Social Services Australia (2007–2012), the church's peak body for social services. In 2009 he was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for services to political science and to the community. Born and educated in Adelaide, he is a graduate of Flinders University.