Stephen John Baker (born 30 May 1946) was an Australian politician and 7th

Deputy Premier of South Australia The deputy premier of South Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of South Australia. The deputy premiership is a ministerial portfolio in the Cabinet of South Australia, and the deputy premier is appointed by the governo ...

from 1993 to 1996. Baker represented 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 ...

in the

electoral district of Waite Waite is a single-member Electoral districts of South Australia, electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. Named after Peter Waite (philanthropist), Peter Waite, a 19th century entrepreneur and philanthropist, it covers 75.4 ...

, formerly

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

. Hailing from the moderate faction in his party, he won the seat of Mitcham at the 1982 state election from

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

MP Heather Southcott, the only single-member lower house seat anywhere in Australia to be held by a Democrat. Baker became Deputy Premier and

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 ...

in the government of fellow moderate

Dean Brown Dean Craig Brown, AO (born 5 April 1943) is a politician who served as the Premier of South Australia between 14 December 1993 and 28 November 1996, and also served as 10th Deputy Premier of South Australia between 22 October 2001 and 5 ...

after the 1993 state election, but was deposed as deputy leader in favour of

Graham Ingerson Graham Alexander Ingerson (born 27 August 1941) is a former Australian politician and 8th Deputy Premier of South Australia from 1996 to 1998. Ingerson was a Liberal Party member of the House of Assembly seat of Bragg between 1983 and 2002. C ...

when

John Olsen John Wayne Olsen AO (born 7 June 1945) is an Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, Chairma ...

was successful in a November 1996 leadership coup. Baker announced his retirement two months before the 1997 state election, which some interpreted as an act of revenge. The hastily conducted preselection resulted in a win for the conservative faction, whose candidate

Martin Hamilton-Smith Martin Leslie James Hamilton-Smith (born 1 December 1953) is a former Australian politician who represented the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Waite from the 1997 election until his retirement in 2018. First elected as a candidat ...

defeated moderate Robert Lawson, which prompted Brown to complain of interference by federal conservative MPs

Nick Minchin Nicholas Hugh Minchin (born 15 April 1953) is an Australian former politician and former Australian Consul-General in New York. He previously served as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing South Australia from July 1993 to J ...

, Grant Chapman and Andrew Southcott.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Stephen 1946 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of South Australia Deputy premiers of South Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Treasurers of South Australia