Srechko Jernej"Stretch" Kontelj,OAM (born 1961) is an Australian lawyer and politician currently serving as the Mayor of the City of Greater Geelong,representing Kardinia Ward.[1] Prior to taking office,Kontelj had served as a councillor for the city,representing Kildare Ward from 1998 to 2015,as Mayor of Geelong from 2001 to 2002 and as Deputy Mayor from 2012 to 2013.
In 2011,Kontelj was appointed a Notary Public servicing the greater Geelong region.
Between 2008 and 2015,Kontelj was employed as an in-house lawyer by the Australian subsidiary of global optometry company Specsavers. Between 2015 and 2020,he served as its General Legal Director in Guernsey.
Since 2020,Kontelj has served as the Group General Counsel of the Australian optometry company Bailey Nelson.
In 2019-2020,Kontelj was Honorary Consul of the Republic of Slovenia to the States of Guernsey,United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In 2022,Srechko was appointed Honorary Consul of the Republic of Slovenia for Victoria.
During his time on Council,Kontelj served as Mayor of Geelong from March 2001 until April 2002,and as Deputy Mayor from 27 November 2012 to 27 May 2013. He announced his resignation from Council effective 31 July 2015,as he had taken a job with Specsavers which required him to move to Guernsey.[4]
In 2024,Kontelj was elected as a member of the Greater Geelong City Council for Kardinia Ward,and was elected Mayor.
Honours
Kontelj has a long history of community involvement,particularly in supporting ethnic communities for which he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2001 in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. In 2003 Kontelj was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to local government,and in 2010 he was awarded the Australian Defence Medal for service to the Australian Defence Force as a Specialist Reserve Legal Officer.
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