John Alexander Cowdell (born 24 May 1953) is a former Australian politician.Born in Perth, Cowdell holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education. He worked as a public servant and adviser to Kim Beazley before being appointed Assistant Secretary of the Western Australian Labor Party; he was also Dean of Kingswood College at the University of Western Australia. In 1993 he was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council for South West.