Geoffrey Graeme Leigh (born 24 August 1952) is a former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n politician. He was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member of the

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

, representing

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

from 1982 to 1992 and

Mordialloc Mordialloc is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the . ...

from 1992 to 2002. Leigh was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to marine engineer Ronald Pearson Leigh and his wife, schoolteacher Anne Thora Whiteside. He was educated in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

Samarai Island Samarai is an island and former administrative capital in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. The island is historically significant as the site of a trading port and stop-over between Australia and East Asia. Samarai town was established on ...

State School before attending Mentone Boys Grammar, Parkdale Secretary College and

Moorabbin Moorabbin is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Moorabbin recorded a population of 6,287 at the . Most of the ea ...

Technical College. He began an apprenticeship in

carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tr ...

and

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in ...

y in 1969 and completed it in 1972. Active in the

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 ...

, he was President and Membership Officer of the Mentone Young Liberals in 1975 and was on the Young Liberal Movement State Executive 1978–79. In 1979, he was the unsuccessful Liberal candidate for the state seat of Brunswick, and in 1982 he contested Heatherton, again unsuccessfully. However, later in 1982, he was selected as the Liberal candidate for a by-election for the safe seat of

, being vacated by former

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Lindsay Thompson Lindsay Hamilton Simpson Thompson AO, CMG (15 October 1923 – 16 July 2008) was an Australian Liberal Party politician who served the 40th Premier of Victoria from June 1981 to April 1982. He was previously the Deputy Premier between 1972 and ...

. Leigh was elected, and in 1985 he became Opposition Whip in the Assembly. He was promoted to a shadow ministerial role in 1988, holding the Consumer Affairs and Prices portfolio. He left the front bench in 1989 and did not return during the Kennett Government; he was elected to the seat of

in 1992 after being defeated by Robert Doyle in a Malvern preselection. He returned to the front bench after Kennett's defeat, serving as Shadow Transport Minister from 1999 until his defeat in 2002. Leigh later worked for developer John Woodman and appeared before IBAC in regard to Mr Woodman's alleged payments to councillors at the City of Casey. Leigh has been twice married: firstly to Georgina Gibson on 1 May 1985, and secondly to Andree Patrice Martin on 11 December 1991. He has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh, Geoff 1952 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Melbourne 21st-century Australian politicians