Denis Napthine

Denis Vincent Napthine (born 6 March 1952) is an Australian politician for the Liberal Party in the state of Victoria. He is a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of South-West Coast.[1][2] Following the resignation of Ted Baillieu, he was elected leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party on 6 March 2013 and was sworn in as the 47th Premier of Victoria later the same day. On 29 November 2014, at the Victorian state election, the Coalition was defeated by Labor and Napthine conceded defeat and his term as Premier ended on 4 December 2014 when the new Labor government was sworn in and he resigned as Liberal leader and was succeeded in the Liberal leadership by Matthew Guy.[3]


Dr Denis Napthine

Premier Denis Napthine.jpg
Denis Napthine in 2013
47th Premier of Victoria
In office
6 March 2013 – 4 December 2014
GovernorAlex Chernov
DeputyPeter Ryan
Preceded byTed Baillieu
Leader of the Opposition of Victoria
In office
26 October 1999 – 20 August 2002
DeputyLouise Asher
Preceded byJeff Kennett
Succeeded byRobert Doyle
Victorian
Minister for Ports
Minister for Regional Cities
Minister for Racing
Minister for Major Projects
Assumed office
2 December 2010
PremierTed Baillieu
Member of the Victorian Parliament
for South-West Coast
Assumed office
30 November 2002
Preceded byNew seat
Personal details
Born (1952-03-06) 6 March 1952 (age 72)
Geelong, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLiberal Party of Australia
ProfessionVeterinarian

Early life

One of Napthine's ancestors is the renowned convict, Joseph Potaski.[4] Before entering political life he was a veterinarian, undertaking a Bachelor's and then a Master's Degree in Veterinary Science, both from the University of Melbourne, and later gaining a Master's Degree in Business Administration, from Deakin University.

Political career

Napthine was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1988 as Member for the country seat of Portland, as the electorate was then known. He was re-elected in 1992, 1996 and 1999. The electorate of Portland was abolished in the 2002 redivision. Napthine was then elected MLA for South-West Coast in the November 2002 election. He was re-elected in November 2006 with an increased margin.

Kennett Ministry

He was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health in 1992 and then promoted to Minister for Youth and Community Services in 1996 in Jeff Kennett's Liberal government, a position he held from 1996 to 1999.

Leader of the Opposition

Following the defeat of the Liberal Party at the 1999 election, Kennett resigned as Liberal leader, and Napthine was a surprise choice to take his place. Napthine had briefly served as Deputy Liberal Leader having been elected to the position just shortly before Kennett stood down as Liberal Leader. During his term as Opposition Leader the Liberal-National coalition split, fracturing the opposition parties.

Under Napthine's leadership, the Liberal Party did poorly in the polls and did not make any significant electoral inroads on the ruling Labor Government. Shortly before the 2002 state election, Doyle challenged Napthine for the leadership of the Liberal Party. Doyle won the leadership by a narrow margin, but went on to lead the party to its worst electoral defeat ever, in which Napthine nearly lost his seat.

Baillieu Ministry

After the Liberals won the 2010 Victorian election, Napthine was made a member of Ted Baillieu's cabinet. He served as the Minister for Ports, Racing, Regional Cities and Major Projects.[5]

Denis Napthine Media

References

  1. "Parliamentary Handbook: Denis Napthine". Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  2. "re-member database: Denis Napthine". Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 2007-08-29. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  3. "Victoria votes 2014 live: Labor wins election, Napthine concedes defeat". ABC News (Australia). 29 November 2014. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-29/live-blog-victoria-votes-2014/5928222. Retrieved 29 November 2014. 
  4. Purcell, Marie (1991). By degrees: a story of the Potaski/McDonald family 1802–1987. M. Purcell. ISBN 0-646-05619-0.
  5. Austin, Paul; Colebatch, Tim (3 December 2010). "Baillieu promotes Lib ex-leader". The Age. http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=age&kw=Peter+Walsh+and+trade&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=nrm&clsPage=1&docID=AGE1012031D3LB3F0CJQ. Retrieved 19 December 2010. 

Other websites

Assembly seats
Preceded by
Digby Crozier
Member for Portland
1988–2002
Seat abolished
Seat created Member for South-West Coast
2002–present
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Steve Bracks
Leader of the Opposition of Victoria
1999–2002
Succeeded by
Robert Doyle
Preceded by
Tim Pallas
as Minister for Roads and Ports
Minister for Ports
2010–present
Incumbent
Minister for Major Projects
2010–present
Preceded by
Rob Hulls
Minister for Racing
2010–present
Preceded by
Jacinta Allan
as Minister for Regional and Rural Development
Minister for Regional Cities
2010–present
Preceded by
Ted Baillieu
Premier of Victoria
2013–2014
Succeeded by
Daniel Andrews
Party political offices
Preceded by
Jeff Kennett
Leader of the Liberal Party in Victoria
1999–2002
Succeeded by
Robert Doyle
Preceded by
Ted Baillieu
Leader of the Liberal Party in Victoria
2013–present
Incumbent