Anthony Allan Staley (15 May 1939 – 3 May 2023) was an Australian politician. A member 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 ...

, he held the Victorian seat of Chisholm from 1970 to 1980 and served as Minister for the Capital Territory (1976–1977) and Minister for Posts and Telecommunications (1977–1980) in the Fraser government. He later served as national president of the Liberal Party from 1993 to 1999.

Early life

Staley was born on 15 May 1939 in

Horsham, Victoria Horsham () is a regional city in the Wimmera region of western Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Located on a bend in the Wimmera River, Horsham is approximately northwest of the state capital Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, Horsham ...

. He was educated at

Scotch College, Melbourne Scotch College is a private, Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college was established in 1851 as The Melbourne Academy in a house in Spri ...

. He completed the degree of

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

at 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 ...

Parliament

Staley was elected to parliament at the 1970 Chisholm by-election, which followed the death of the incumbent Liberal MP Wilfrid Kent Hughes. He was the Member for Chisholm from 1970 to 1980 and was Minister for the Capital Territory from February 1976 to December 1977 in the Fraser Government and then Minister for Post and Telecommunications until his retirement from Parliament.

Subsequent activities

He later served as Federal President of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

. In May 1994 when Liberal Leader John Hewson called a leadership spill, Staley as Liberal President caused controversy when he withdrew his support for Hewson saying they could not win with Hewson sadly. The controversy was due to the expectation that the organizational wing of the party which Staley was in charge of as president did not interfere with the parliamentary party in selecting the leader. In the subsequent leadership spill, Hewson was defeated by Alexander Downer but it was expected that Staley would not have survived as party president if Hewson had won the spill. He did continue on in the position and supported

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

's bid to become Leader of the Opposition and ultimately Prime Minister.

Personal life and death

In 1990, Staley was involved in a serious road accident, which left him needing to use calipers to walk. Staley died in Melbourne on 3 May 2023, at the age of 83.Former Liberal Party federal president Tony Staley dies aged 83
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References

External links

1939 births 2023 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Chisholm Members of the Australian House of Representatives People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Officers of the Order of Australia People from Horsham, Victoria University of Melbourne alumni Australian MPs 1969–1972 Australian MPs 1972–1974 Australian MPs 1974–1975 Australian MPs 1975–1977 Australian MPs 1977–1980 {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub