Graham McDonald Gunn, AM (born 5 September 1942), was an Australian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who was a member of the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

. A member of 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 represented the electorate of Eyre from 1970 to 1997, and the electorate of Stuart from 1997 to 2010. By the final years of his parliamentary career, Gunn had become the longest-serving member of any parliament in Australia. After attending

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

's Scotch College, Gunn pursued a career as a farmer and grazier in the Mount Cooper area. He served on the Streaky Bay Council between 1966 and 1970. In 1970, he was elected to the House of Assembly for Eyre, in South Australia's vast northern outback, as a member of the then

Liberal and Country League 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 ...

(LCL), which became the South Australian division of the Liberal Party in 1974. Aged 27, he was one of the youngest politicians in Australia at the time. Gunn served as

Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly The Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly is the presiding officer of the South Australian House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of South Australia. The other presiding officer is the President of the South Australian Le ...

from 1994 to 1997, during the Brown Liberal Government, but lost that office after

John Olsen John Wayne Olsen, AO (born 7 June 1945) is a former Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, C ...

ascended to the Liberal leadership. For most of his tenure, Gunn was re-elected with little difficulty. However, before the 1997 state election, his old seat was abolished in a redistribution. Gunn contested the electorate of Stuart, essentially the eastern half of his former seat. While he went into the election sitting on a notional majority of eight percent, he suffered a 7.5 percent swing against him due to a vigorous

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

campaign. He also faced a strong challenge from Labor candidate Justin Jarvis in the 2006 state election, with the final result not being known until nine days after the election. Gunn ultimately emerged victorious, albeit by only 233 votes. Gunn retired at the 2010 state election, having spent half of his life in the state parliament. He was the last surviving parliamentarian from the LCL, as well as the last parliamentary survivor of the

Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury, Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restor ...

Corcoran Corcoran is an Irish surname, the original Irish language form being meaning 'descendant of Corcrán'. The name itself is derived from meaning 'purple'. History The name Corcoran is an anglicisation of the names of two Gaelic clans. The f ...

and

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain ''Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includi ...

governments. The Liberals pre-selected former national basketball player

Dan van Holst Pellekaan Daniel Cornelius van Holst Pellekaan is a former Australian politician, representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Stuart for the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2010 state election until he l ...

to defend Stuart. On

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

2011, Gunn was appointed a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

.Awards. The Honourable Graham McDonald GUNN
pmc.gov.au

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunn, Graham 1942 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of South Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Speakers of the South Australian House of Assembly Members of the Order of Australia People educated at Scotch College, Adelaide Liberal and Country League politicians 21st-century Australian politicians