Alexander James Douglas "Lex" Bell OAM (born 13 July 1945) is an Australian politician. Born in Brisbane, he received a Master of Laws from

Bond University Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its founding on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher ed ...

and a

Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the University of Queensland before becoming a solicitor of the

Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to he ...

. He was also on Gold Coast City Council from 1985–2001, including a period as mayor 1988–1994. He was also a chancellor with the Anglican Catholic Church. On 20 March 2001, former National Party Premier and member for

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

Rob Borbidge resigned from the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. Bell contested the resulting by-election as an independent. Due to voter anger at going back to the polls for the second time in three months, the National vote collapsed to eight percent, and Bell was elected with 58 percent of the two-candidate preferred vote. He held the seat until the 2004 state election, when he finished third on the primary vote, allowing his Liberal challenger in 2001, John-Paul Langbroek, to win the seat. Mr Bell announced in late 2011 he would contest his former council seat of Division 7 in Surfers Paradise which he regained on 28 April 2012.

References

Independent members of the Parliament of Queensland 1945 births Living people Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Bond University alumni People from the Gold Coast, Queensland Mayors of Gold Coast 21st-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Independent-politician-stub