Ronald Edward Bertram (22 June 1924 – 17 November 2014) was an Australian lawyer and politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

from 1968 to 1989. He briefly served as a minister in the government of

John Tonkin John Trezise Tonkin (2 February 1902 – 20 October 1995) was an Australian politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 3 March 1971 to 8 April 1974. A member of the Labor Party, Tonkin was a minister in the Willcock, Wise a ...

. Bertram was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

to Maude (née Bennett) and Walter Bertram. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in June 1943, and saw service in New Guinea during the war. Bertram was discharged from the army in 1946, and subsequently worked as an accountant. He later studied law part-time, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1954, allowing him to practise as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. Bertram first ran for parliament at the 1965 state election. He contested the newly created North Metropolitan Province, but was defeated by

Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith (; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Trea ...

of the

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 ...

.Ronald Edward Bertram
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 29 May 2016. Bertram eventually entered parliament at the 1968 state election, replacing the retiring

Bill Hegney William Hegney (11 January 1896 – 13 October 1982) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1939 to 1968. He served as a minister in the government of Albert Hawke. Hegn ...

in the seat of Mount Hawthorn. Bertram was re-elected at the 1971 state election, which saw a Labor victory, and was then appointed

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 Minister for Railways in the new ministry formed by John Tonkin. However, he resigned from cabinet after just under seven months in office, due to ill health. He was the shortest-serving state attorney-general since

Frederick Moorhead Frederick William Moorhead KC (1863 – 27 November 1902) was an Australian barrister, politician, and judge. He was born in Ireland and emigrated to Western Australia in 1889. Moorhead was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Austr ...

in 1901.Attorneys General of Western Australia
– Parliamentary Library of Western Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2016. Following Labor's defeat at the 1974 state election, Bertram was included in Labor's Tonkin shadow cabinet. He remained a member until 1980, serving under three

leaders of the opposition Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

(John Tonkin,

Colin Jamieson Colin John Jamieson (26 May 1923 – 27 March 1990) was an Australian politician. He was the Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia), leader of the opposition and state leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Western Australia from 1 ...

, and Ron Davies). At the 1983 election, the seat of Mount Hawthorn was abolished, and Bertram successfully transferred to the seat of Balcatta, which he held until his retirement at the

1989 election The following elections occurred in the year 1989. Africa * 1989 Beninese parliamentary election * 1989 Botswana general election * 1989 Equatorial Guinean presidential election * 1989 People's Republic of the Congo parliamentary election * 1 ...

. He died in Perth in November 2014, aged 90.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertram, Ron 1924 births 2014 deaths Attorneys-general of Western Australia Australian Army soldiers Australian barristers Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian Army personnel of World War II Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Perth, Western Australia