Peter Costigan was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n journalist and Lord Mayor of Melbourne from 1999 to 2001. In 1999, Costigan was elected a Councillor of the City of Melbourne

City of Melbourne

The City of Melbourne is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. The city has an area of 36 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 93,105 people. The city's motto is "Vires acquirit eundo" which means "She gathers strength as she...

 and subsequently elected Lord Mayor by fellow Councillors, defeating rival Councillor John So

John So

John Chun Sai So JP is a Chinese-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 the people; previously, Lord Mayors were elected by the Councillors.First elected...

 with a majority of 5-to-4 votes.

Costigan grew up in Preston, a suburb of Melbourne and was educated by the Jesuits at St Patricks College, East Melbourne. He completed his tertiary education at the University of Melbourne

University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...

.

Costigan was the brother of barrister Frank Costigan

Frank Costigan

Francis Xavier "Frank" Costigan, QC was an Australian lawyer who is most famous for chairing the Costigan Commission into organised crime.-Background and early life:...

QC.