Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey is of Armenian Descent
Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey is of Armenian Descent –
Joseph Benedict “Joe” Hockey (born 2 August 1965) has been a Member of The Australian Parliament since 1996. He has been the Treasurer of Australia in the Abbott Government since 18 September 2013 and previously served as the Minister for Human Services and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations in the Howard Government. Following the 2013 election, Hockey was named Treasurer of Australia.
Hockey was born in North Sydney to a Bethlehem-born Armenian father, Richard, and an Australian mother, Beverley. He has three elder siblings. His father’s original surname, Hokeidonian, was anglicized in 1948, after arriving in Australia, to “Hockey”.
He is a member of the Parliamentary Friends of Armenia, China, Argentina, Chile and Cuba. He is also a member of Parliamentary Friends of Asthma, a group of parliamentarians dedicated to helping sufferers of Asthma.
The Hon. Joe Hockey, has become the country’s most senior government minister to place on record the historical reality of the Armenian genocide, despite his leader, Prime Minister Tony Abbott backflipping to avoid the use of the word “genocide,” the Armenian National Committee of Australia reports.
In a statement prepared for the 99th anniversary commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, Hockey stated: “Today we gather to remember the 1.5 million people who perished in the genocide.” He added: “Back in 1915, the word ‘genocide’ did not exist… But there is simply no other word for what happened to the Armenian people of Ottoman Turkey.
Watch video – Joe Hockey’s statement on the Armenian Genocide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaHI_toPS5w