Robert Logan Dean (born 31 October 1952) Australian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

is a former member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

Early life and education

Dean obtained a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. After graduating and before entering politics, Dean worked as a lawyer.

Career

In 1992, Dean, a long-time

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. For example, while the political systems ...

activist, obtained preselection for the marginal Labor Party seat of Berwick; and, in the wake of the 1992 Kennett landslide, he easily defeated former

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

Robert Jolly. After the

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

of the Kennett

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

in 1996 Dean was promoted to the position of Parliamentary Secretary for Justice which he held until the Liberals lost government at the 1999 election. Despite being associated with the forces opposed to

Denis Napthine Denis Vincent Napthine (born 6 March 1952) is an Australian former politician and veterinarian who served as the 47th premier of Victoria from 2013 to 2014. He held office as the leader of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party of Austr ...

's leadership, Dean was promoted to shadow cabinet after the election serving as shadow

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and shadow minister for Aboriginal Affairs. In 2001, a redistribution carried out by the

Victorian Electoral Commission The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), formerly the State Electoral Office, is the statutory body responsible for the running of state, municipal and various non-government elections in Victoria, Australia. Independence It is an independen ...

abolished his seat of Berwick as well as the neighbouring seat of Pakenham held by former Deputy Leader Robert Maclellan replacing them with the seat of Gembrook. Dean narrowly won a bitter preselection for the new seat against Maclellan. In October 2002,

Robert Doyle Robert Keith Bennett Doyle (born 20 May 1953) is an Australian politician who was the 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, elected on 30 November 2008 until he resigned on 4 February 2018 amidst allegations of sexual harassment. He was previously M ...

launched a successful coup against Napthine's leadership. An ally of Doyle, Dean was promoted to the key position of shadow Treasurer. However, the following month it emerged that Dean had failed to update his address after he moved out of his residence in Berwick after his preselection victory for Gembrook. As a result, his voting registration had lapsed, rendering him ineligible to run in the election. In Victoria, a prospective candidate must be a registered voter. Dean's political career was now effectively over. The incident derailed the Liberal campaign, with Treasurer

John Brumby John Mansfield Brumby (born 21 April 1953) is the current Chancellor of La Trobe University and former Victorian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became leader of the Victorian Labor Party and premier ...

loudly wondering how the Liberals could manage the economy if their own shadow Treasurer could not manage his own affairs. Doyle later spoke of how the issue cost the significant momentum in the campaign. Labor went on to a landslide victory, winning the most seats they have ever won at the state level in Victoria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Robert 1952 births Living people Melbourne Law School alumni Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Melbourne Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria 21st-century Australian politicians