Bob Charles (politician)

Bob Charles
Member of the Australian Parliament
for La Trobe
In office
24 March 1990 – 31 August 2004
Preceded byPeter Milton
Succeeded byJason Wood
Personal details
Born
Robert Edwin Charles

(1936-07-24)24 July 1936
Covington, Kentucky, U.S.
Died17 April 2016(2016-04-17) (aged 79)
NationalityAmerican
Australian
Political partyLiberal Party of Australia
OccupationEngineer

Robert Edwin Charles (24 July 1936 – 17 April 2016) was an Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1990 to October 2004, representing the Division of La Trobe, Victoria.[1]

Charles was born in Covington, Kentucky and educated at Purdue University BSc (MechEng).[2] He was an engineer before entering politics. He was a foreman, supervisor, International Marketing Manager and Managing Director of an instrument company and Chairman and Managing Director of a construction company. He moved to Australia in 1969, became a citizen of Australia in 1974, and was first elected to the La Trobe seat in 1990.

Charles was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry 1994–96. He retired at the 2004 election. In 2005, Charles was appointed as the Australian Consul-General in Chicago.[3][4]

Charles died on 17 April 2016, aged 79.[5]

  1. ^ A seat where every vote really does count Archived 5 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Mr Bob Charles MP". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  3. ^ Downer, Alexander (18 December 2004). "Diplomatic Appointment: Consul-General in Chicago" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
  4. ^ Koutsoukis, Jason (18 December 2004). "Howard awards plum post to Liberal mate". The Age. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012.
  5. ^ Hansard, 19 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016