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Peter Ryan (politician)

The Honourable
Peter Ryan
Peter Ryan.jpg
26th Deputy Premier of Victoria
In office
2 December 2010 – 4 December 2014
Premier Ted Baillieu
Denis Napthine
Preceded by Rob Hulls
Succeeded by James Merlino
Victorian Minister for Police
In office
2 December 2010 – 13 March 2013
Premier Ted Baillieu
Denis Napthine
Preceded by James Merlino
Succeeded by Kim Wells
Member of the Victorian Parliament
for Gippsland South
In office
3 October 1992 – 2 February 2015
Preceded by Tom Wallace
Succeeded by Danny O'Brien
Personal details
Born (1950-10-30) 30 October 1950 (age 66)
Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Nationality Australian
Political party The Nationals
Profession Lawyer
Website personal website

Peter Julian Ryan (born 30 October 1950) is a former Australian politician who was leader of The Nationals in Victoria. He represented the electoral district of Gippsland South from 1992 to 2015, and from 2010 to 2014 was the Deputy Premier of Victoria as well as the Minister for Rural and Regional Development. In addition, Ryan was the Minister for Police from 2010 to 2013.

Ryan was born and raised in Lockington, Northern Victoria. He was educated in Shepparton where he graduated from high school in 1968. He went on to study Law at RMIT. Ryan moved to Sale during 1974 to work for a local law firm Warren, Graham and Murphy. He became partner in 1976 and managing partner in 1989. After an 18-year career in the law, Ryan was preselected as the National Party's candidate for Gippsland South in 1991 and elected to the Victorian Parliament as the Member for Gippsland South in 1992, replacing Tom Wallace. Ryan was a member of several parliamentary committees between 1992 and 1999.

Rural discontent led to a shock defeat for the Kennett Government in 1999, with large swings in rural and regional Victoria to the ALP delivering a minority Labor Government with support from three independents. Kennett left the parliament shortly after the election, and The Nationals leader Pat McNamara resigned as leader in December 1999. Ryan was elected as leader unopposed. One of his first acts as leader was to tear up the Coalition agreement and move the Nationals to the crossbenches as a separate party. The Liberals and Nationals have historically had a strained relationship in Victoria; while they are Coalition at the federal level, they sat separately for most of the second half of the 20th century in Victoria until renewing the Coalition at state level in 1992.

The Nationals remained in opposition from 1999 to 2010. In mid-2000, McNamara left the parliament and his hitherto safe seat of Benalla was also lost to the ALP. At the 2002 election, the Nationals received only 4.3% of the primary vote and were reduced to just seven seats in the Assembly and four seats in the Council; the combined total of eleven was the minimum required to maintain Third Party status. However, they did manage to win back Benalla despite the ALP landslide.


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