Peter Ruehl


Vincent Peter Ruehl, known as Peter Ruehl, was an American-born Australian newspaper columnist, best known for the humorous column he wrote thrice weekly for The Australian Financial Review, in which he offered an American view on life in Australia. During his career, he also contributed to The Australian and the Herald Sun.

Biography

Ruehl was born in New York City, the son of an FBI agent. He was educated at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., and later moved to Annapolis where he studied at the University of Maryland and worked as a court reporter for The Baltimore Sun. In 1983, the paper asked him to provide coverage of the 1983 America's Cup in Newport, Rhode Island, during which time he met his future wife, fellow journalist Jennifer Hewett, who had been assigned to the same event by The Sydney Morning Herald. They married and then moved to Australia in 1987.
His first piece of journalism in Australia was his coverage of the 1987 America's Cup for the Australian Financial Review, a paper for which he continued to write for most of his career. It was his satirical column in this paper that brought recognition, leading Roger Johnstone to praise him as a "one of a kind in Australian journalism".

Family and personal life

At the time of his death, Ruehl lived in the eastern Sydney suburb of Clovelly, with his wife Jennifer and their three children, Mercedes, John and Tom. According to colleague Colleen Ryan, Ruehl had a few close select friends and "could be quite introverted", preferring to spend time with his family or writing.
His sister is Academy Award-winning actress Mercedes Ruehl.