Ian Wilson (politician)

The Honourable Ian Wilson
Member of the Australian Parliament for Sturt
In office 26 November 1966 – 25 October 1969
Preceded by	Keith Wilson
Succeeded by	Norm Foster
In office 2 December 1972 – 8 February 1993
Preceded by	Norm Foster
Succeeded by	Christopher Pyne
Personal details
Born	(1932-05-02)2 May 1932 Adelaide, South Australia
Died	Adelaide, South Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Spouse(s)	Mary Wilson
Relations	Keith Wilson (father) Elizabeth Bonython (mother)
Alma mater	Adelaide University
Occupation	Solicitor

Ian Bonython Cameron Wilson AM (2 May 1932 – 2 April 2013), solicitor, company director and Australian politician, was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the son of Sir Keith Wilson, a prominent United Australia Party and Liberal Party politician. His mother, Elizabeth, (Lady Betty Wilson CBE), was a granddaughter of Sir John Langdon Bonython, owner of The Advertiser and a member of the first federal House of Representatives, and a great-granddaughter of Sir John Cox Bray, South Australia's first native-born premier.

Wilson was educated at St Peter's College and Adelaide University, where he graduated in law, and at Magdalen College, Oxford (S.A. Rhodes Scholar 1955), where he did a higher law degree. He was a solicitor and company director before entering politics.

In 1966, Wilson was elected to the House of Representatives for the Adelaide seat of Sturt, which his father had held with one break since 1949. It was considered a fairly safe Liberal seat, but at the 1969 election there was a strong swing to Labor in South Australia, and Wilson was unexpectedly defeated by Norm Foster, a waterside worker. In the 1972 election, after spending a great deal of family money, Wilson regained the seat even as Labor won government. He held it without difficulty for over 20 years.

Wilson was typical of upper-class South Australian Liberals from the "Adelaide Establishment" in being relatively moderate on most issues. He was a serious Anglican and active in many charitable and social welfare groups. This did not make him popular with the more conservative wing of the party. When the Liberals came to power under Malcolm Fraser in 1975, he was initially passed over for ministerial preferment in favour of the more conservative John McLeay.

In 1981, McLeay was dropped from cabinet and Wilson was appointed Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment. In 1982 he was shifted to Aboriginal Affairs, a notoriously unpopular portfolio in Coalition governments. He held this position until the defeat of the Liberal government in 1983. He was not included in the Opposition Shadow Ministry after the elections, and remained as a backbencher. He lost Liberal pre-selection ahead of the 1993 election to Christopher Pyne, 35 years his junior, and retired after the election.

Wilson died in Adelaide on 2 April 2013, aged 80.

References

Political offices
Preceded by Michael MacKellar	Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment 1981–1982	Succeeded by Tom McVeigh
Preceded by Fred Chaney	Minister for Aboriginal Affairs 1982–1983	Succeeded by Clyde Holding
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Keith Wilson	Member for Sturt 1966–1969	Succeeded by Norm Foster
Preceded by Norm Foster	Member for Sturt 1972–1993	Succeeded by Christopher Pyne