Robert Frederick Smith (born 22 May 1948) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

from 1999 to 2010, representing

South Eastern Metropolitan Region South-Eastern Metropolitan Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as the upper house) by proportional representation. The region was c ...

. Smith was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and attended St Brendan's Public school 1958–63 and Salisbury High School in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, 1963–65. In 1965 he became a permanent member of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, where he remained until 1980, when he became the plant operator of a steel mill. In 1989, he became a union leader. Smith was elected to the Legislative Council in the 1999 Victorian state election, representing Chelsea Province. When the Legislative Council was reformed in 2006, he won preselection for the third position on the Labor ticket for South Eastern Metropolitan, and was elected. In December 2006 he became President of the Legislative Council. In the 2010 election, Smith ran for a seat in the

Western Metropolitan Region Western Metropolitan Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as the upper house) by proportional representation. The region was create ...

but failed to win election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bob 1948 births Living people Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Members of the Victorian Legislative Council for South Eastern Metropolitan Region Presidents of the Victorian Legislative Council Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Australian trade unionists Royal Australian Navy personnel English emigrants to Australia 21st-century Australian politicians