Robert John Solomon AM (born 2 November 1931) is a former Australian academic and politician. He was a Rhodes Scholar and lectured in geography at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first prop ...

before his election to parliament at the 1969 federal election. He represented the

Division of Denison The Division of Denison was an Australian electoral division in Tasmania, before being replaced by the Division of Clark as part of a 2016–17 redistribution. History The division was one of the five established when the former Division o ...

as 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 ...

until his defeat in 1972 after a single term. After leaving parliament he was prominent in

urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of peop ...

circles.

Early life

Solomon was born on 2 November 1931 in

Condobolin, New South Wales Condobolin is a town in the west of the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. At the , Condobolin had a population of 3,486. History Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Wiradjuri pe ...

. He completed his secondary schooling at

Barker College , motto_translation = Seek Honour above Rewards , location = Hornsby, Sydney , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_image ...

, Sydney, where he was a state champion in junior athletics. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

), Master of Arts (

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

), and Doctor of Philosophy (

), as well as diplomas in education (University of Sydney) and law (

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

). He was the New South Wales Rhodes Scholar for 1955. Solomon was a senior lecturer in geography at the University of Tasmania from 1957 to 1969.

Politics

Solomon was a vice-president of the Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division) from 1965 to 1969. He was elected to parliament at the 1969 federal election, retaining the

for the Liberal Party following the retirement of

Adrian Gibson Adrian Gibson (3 November 1935 – 30 April 2015) was an Australian politician. Born in Hobart, Tasmania, he was educated there at Hutchins School and at the University of Tasmania where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1959. He became a ...

. He was defeated by the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

(ALP) candidate John Coates at the 1972 election. In 1973 Solomon was one of 32 candidates for Liberal preselection in the Sydney seat of Bradfield.

Later career

After losing his seat in parliament, Solomon advertised for work in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

''. He qualified as a barrister, also serving as managing director of an urban research consultancy and as executive director of the Advertising Federation of Australia. Solomon has had a long involvement with the Australian Institute of Urban Studies (AIUS), serving as chairman of the New South Wales division and twice as national chairman. He published his doctoral thesis in 1976 under the title ''Urbanisation: The Evolution of an Australian Capital'', and later published a history of Broken Hill, New South Wales. In 1987 he was appointed director of development at the

. He was responsible for co-ordinating fundraising efforts. Solomon was appointed a

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

(AM) in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours, "for service to urban affairs, particularly through research, public discussion and policy development by the Australian Institute of Urban Studies, to the Association of Former Members of Parliament, and to athletics."

References

Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Denison Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Order of Australia 1931 births Living people 20th-century Australian politicians Alumni of the University of Oxford University of Tasmania alumni Academic staff of the University of Tasmania Australian geographers Australian urban planners Australian barristers University of Sydney alumni Australian Rhodes Scholars People educated at Barker College {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub