Mrs Vanstone - who served as a Senator for South Australia from 1984 to 2007, before becoming Australia’s Ambassador to Italy until 2010 - takes up her position immediately after being appointed for a three-year term by the SANFL.
Port Adelaide Chairman David Koch welcomed Mrs Vanstone to the club and thanked her for her commitment, saying she eagerly accepted his invitation to join the Board.
“Amanda is a passionate Port Adelaide supporter who brings global thinking, a worldly perspective and a wealth of local, national and international experiences to the club,” Mr Koch said.
“She will help our push towards best practice in all that we do and be an important contributor to the renewal of Port Adelaide, the strengthening of the club’s brand and the pursuit of our vision for its future.”
Mrs Vanstone said her support for Port Adelaide stems from her admiration of its rise to the AFL and she is eager to serve on the Board to help the club continue its rebuild and achieve more success.
“I was delighted to be at the Grand Final in 2004 to see Port Adelaide’s first AFL Premiership and like all supporters I want to see that again, for the club’s sake and for South Australia’s” Mrs Vanstone said.
“We’re going to need some fighting spirit and the Port Adelaide Football Club has plenty. It is one of their very admirable qualities.
“I’m keen to be part of a rebuild like this because that kind of journey is extremely rewarding. When you’re down and when you get up, dust yourself off and get going even people who don’t necessarily like you admire and acknowledge the achievement.
“One thing Australians really admire is a group that can go through a tough time, rebuild and come out stronger. It is as true for football clubs as it is for people. That’s what we intend to do as we build an exciting future.”
Before entering Federal Parliament, Mrs Vanstone worked as a lawyer after graduating from the University of Adelaide.
She serves on a number of community-based boards and committees and in 2000 was a member of the Foundation Board of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Amanda Vanstone
Director, Port Adelaide Football Club 2012 - current
Board of Governors, Institute for International Trade (Adelaide University)
Director, Youth Opportunities Australia
Patron, Hutt Street Centre
Patron, Salvation Army Ingle Farm Project
Ambassador to Italy (2007-2010)
Senator for SA (1984-2007)
Member, Foundation Board of World Anti-Doping Authority (2000)
