Ian James Laurance (born 30 April 1940) 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties 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 1974 to 1987, representing the seat of Gascoyne. He was a minister in the governments 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 ...

and

Ray O'Connor Raymond James O'Connor (6 March 1926 – 25 February 2013) was an Australian politician who served as the premier of Western Australia from 25 January 1982 to 25 February 1983. He was a member of parliament from 1959 to 1984, and a minister in ...

, and briefly served as deputy leader of the Liberal Party (from 1986 to 1987).

Early life

Laurance was born in Northam, in the Wheatbelt, but was educated 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 ...

, attending Perth Boys' School and

John Curtin Senior High School John Curtin College of the Arts, originally John Curtin High School, is an independent, public co-educational, partially selective high school, located in East Street, , a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The school provides a general and ...

. He went on to study at

Graylands Teachers College Graylands Teachers College was a primary teacher education institution, established in 1955 in Mount Claremont (which was called Graylands at the time) in Western Australia. It became the second teachers' college to be established in the sta ...

and the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

, subsequently working as a country schoolteacher. Laurance married Barbara Anne Berry (the daughter of George Berry) in 1964, with whom he had two children. He left teaching in 1970 to work for the Prudential Assurance Company, which brought him back to Perth.Ian James Laurance
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 14 May 2016.

Politics

A longtime member of the Liberal Party, Laurance stood for parliament at the 1974 state election, winning the seat of Gascoyne. After the 1977 election, he was made a parliamentary secretary in the Court ministry. He was elevated to the ministry after the 1980 election, although he was an honorary minister rather than a substantive one. Following the resignation of Sir Charles Court in January 1982, Laurance was appointed Minister for Lands,

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 ...

, and Minister for Conservation and Environment in the new ministry formed by Ray O'Connor. His time in cabinet was brief, however, as the Liberal government was defeated at the 1983 election. Laurance continued to serve in the Liberal shadow ministry until leaving parliament in September 1987, serving under three leaders of the opposition (Ray O'Connor,

Bill Hassell William Ralph Boucher Hassell, best known as Bill Hassell, (born 6 June 1943) is an Australian former Liberal Party politician who was Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia during the mid-1980s. He was a member of the Western Australian ...

, and Barry MacKinnon). He was elected deputy leader of the party in November 1986, when MacKinnon replaced Hassell as leader, but was in the position for less than a year before retiring.

Later life

After leaving politics, Laurance initially worked as a company director. He later served as chairman of several state government agencies, including the

Midland Redevelopment Authority The Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA) was a statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia. It was established on 1 January 2012 pursuant to the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority Act 2011 and reported to the Minister ...

(from 2000 to 2004), the Tourism Council of Western Australia (from 2006 to 2008), and the Perth Convention Bureau (from 2009 to 2016).

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurance, Ian 1940 births Living people Australian schoolteachers Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Order of Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People educated at John Curtin College of the Arts People from Northam, Western Australia