Keith Alan Ridge (born 18 July 1934) is a former Australian politician who was a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1968 to 1980, representing the seat of Kimberley. He was a minister in the government of Sir

Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was a Western Australian politician, and the 21st Premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Early life Court's family e ...

. Ridge was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, and attended John Forrest High School. After leaving school, he worked as a clerk, serving as assistant secretary of the Quairading Road Board and then as clerk of the Shire of West Kimberley.Keith Alan Ridge
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 22 May 2016. At the 1968 state election, Ridge ran as the Liberal candidate for the seat of Kimberley, and defeated the sitting Labor member,

John Rhatigan John Joseph Rhatigan (18 June 1907 – 9 November 1970) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1953 to 1968, representing the seat of Kimberley. Biography John Rhatigan ...

. He was the first non-Labor member for Kimberley for 44 years (since 1924). After the Liberals' victory at the 1974 state election, Ridge was appointed Minister for Lands and

Minister for Forests Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

in the new ministry formed by Sir Charles Court. In June 1975, he was also made Minister for Tourism, replacing

Bill Grayden William Leonard Grayden (born Wilbur Ives; 5 August 1920) is an Australian former politician. He was a member of parliament across six decades, serving in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (1947–1949, 1956–1993) and the Australian ...

. The ministry was reshuffled after the 1977 election, and Ridge was appointed

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

and Minister for Community Welfare. Following another reshuffle in August 1978, he was instead made Minister for Housing, with Ray Young taking over his previous portfolio. Ridge lost his seat to Labor's Ernie Bridge at the 1980 election.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridge, Alan 1934 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Western Australian local councillors