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John Martinkus

1969 – 2025

Australian journalist

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About John Martinkus

Lived 1969 – 2025 (aged 55–56). John Martinkus was a journalist and university teacher.

John Martinkus (9 March 1969 – 14 September 2025) was an Australian print and television journalist known for his reporting from conflict zones.

He began reporting from Indonesian-occupied East Timor in 1995 and set up base there permanently in 1998. His reporting for Associated Press helped sway the international community to send in a UN peacekeeping force in late 1999 after the Indonesian military reacted violently to a UN-held referendum in which 78.5% of East Timorese voted for independence.

He reported extensively from Papua and Aceh in Indonesia, two provinces which have also had long-running wars for independence.

He also reported from Afghanistan and Iraq. In October 2004, he was kidnapped outside his hotel in Baghdad by Sunni insurgents who released him 24 hours later after using Google to verify his status as a journalist.

In 2011, Martinkus was commissioned to travel to Afghanistan as the Official Australian War Cinematographer for the Australian War Memorial.

Martinkus lived in Melbourne, Victoria. He previously taught in the School of Journalism, Media and Communications at the University of Tasmania.

Martinkus died in Melbourne on 14 September 2025.

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Important facts

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped John Martinkus's

Frequently asked questions

Who was John Martinkus?

Australian journalist

When was John Martinkus born?

John Martinkus was born in 1969.

When did John Martinkus die?

John Martinkus died on 14 September 2025 in Melbourne.

What was John Martinkus's occupation?

John Martinkus was a journalist and university teacher.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: John Martinkus

· Wikidata: Q6247013

· DBpedia: John Martinkus

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). John Martinkus. https://biography.guide/john-martinkus/

MLA: "John Martinkus." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/john-martinkus/.

Chicago: "John Martinkus." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/john-martinkus/.

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