Ian Winton Smith (born 25 November 1939) is a former Australian

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 ...

politician. He represented the

Electoral district of Warrnambool The Electoral district of Warrnambool was an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Between 1955 and 1967 the district was abolished and distributed between the Electoral district of Portland, Electoral district of Hampden an ...

in the

State of Victoria Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state i ...

as a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. ...

(MLA) from 1967 until 1983. He resigned to contest Liberal Party pre-selection unsuccessfully for the Federal Division of Wannon, even though he would have been required to resign from the State Parliament only if he had been successful in the pre-selection. He later re-entered the Victorian Parliament as an MLA for the

Electoral district of Polwarth The electoral district of Polwarth is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is located in south-west rural Victoria, west of Geelong, and covers the Colac and Corangamite local government areas (LGA), parts of the Mo ...

from 1985 to 1999.

Biography

Smith was born at

Terang, Victoria Terang is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Corangamite and on the Princes Highway south west of the state's capital, Melbourne. At the , Terang had a population of 1,824. At the 2001 census, ...

, and educated at Terang Primary and Secondary Schools and

Geelong Grammar School , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"( 1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ...

.Smith, Ian Winton Smith

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly an ...

. He has a farming background, living at the "Gwinganna" family farm near Terang until his first marriage in 1967, when he purchased and moved to another farm, "Jingella", near Camperdown. He sold that farm in 1988 and moved, living in both Lorne and

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 ...

. He joined the Liberal Party in 1957. He has been married twice, first to Jennifer Louise Bartlam with whom he has two sons, Edward and James. His second marriage to Anne Michelle Renshaw produced two daughters, Victoria and Jacqueline. He later produced a son with Cheryl Harris.

Political career

His political career includes: Minister of Water Supply, 1970; Minister for Social Welfare, which he established and reformed child care 1970–1973; Minister for Youth, Sport and Recreation, which he established 1972–1973; Minister for Agriculture, 1973–1980, where he undertook many market reforms; Minister for Economic Development, which he established, 1980–1981; Minister for State Development, Decentralization and Tourism, 1980; Minister for Finance, 1992–1995, where he undertook many reforms to privatize public sector assets, reduce the public sector workforce by 23% and reduce state debt and liabilities. Always a controversial MP, Smith was once seen as a future leader of the Liberal Party. He was sacked from

Rupert Hamer Sir Rupert James Hamer, (29 July 1916 – 23 March 2004), generally known until he was knighted in 1982 as Dick Hamer, was an Australian Liberal Party politician who served as the 39th Premier of Victoria from 1972 to 1981. Early years Hamer ...

's Cabinet, then reinstated three days later. In June 1981 Smith played a major role in forcing Hamer to leave the premiership. When Jeff Kennett became premier in a 1992 landslide, Smith was appointed Minister for Finance, but resigned from the Kennett cabinet because of legal action brought against him by Cheryl Harris who was pregnant with his child. He later won that legal action but retired from politics in 1999.

Post-politics

Since politics, Smith has built a successful business career with company directorships and an agribusiness consultancy. In 2009, he was elected to the voluntary position of Chairman of the Corangamite Federal Electorate Council of the Liberal Party of Australia, Victorian Division.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ian 1939 births Living people Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria People educated at Geelong Grammar School Victorian Ministers for Agriculture