Anthony Alexander Alam (23 February 1896 – 9 August 1983) was an Australian businessman, politician and philanthropist. He was one of the longest-serving members of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in t ...

, and a prominent member of the Lebanese community.

Biography

Early life

Alam was born on 23 January 1896 in

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This ...

. His parents were immigrant

Lebanese Lebanese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic * Lebanese people The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...

storekeepers, Joseph Alam and Mary ''née'' Hashem. He was educated at De La Salle College Armidale. He married Therese Anthony (daughter of W. Anthony) at St. Columbia's Church,

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits unde ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, on 26 April 1924.

Political career

He was an active in the Labor Party, and served as president of that Party's Gwydir,

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and G ...

and Wammerawa branches. He represented Labor in the

from 21 December 1925 until 22 April 1958, when he retired from that position. He later filled a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Ian Sinclair from 19 November 1963 until 22 April 1973, when he again retired. He was therefore an MLC for over forty-one years. In doing so, he was one of the very earliest people with Asian ancestry to be represented in any Australian legislature.

Honours

He was appointed to the National Order of the Cedar (Lebanon), the Order of Nichan Iftikhar, the

Légion d’honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(France) and the Order of the Phoenix (Greece).

Death

He died on .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alam, Anthony Alexander 1896 births 1983 deaths Australian people of Lebanese descent Lebanese Maronites Australian Maronites Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Recipients of the National Order of the Cedar Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian philanthropists