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.
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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](_blank)
– 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