Kevin Lyons

The Honourable Kevin Lyons
3rd Deputy Premier of Tasmania
In office 26 May 1969 – 14 March 1972
Premier	Angus Bethune
Preceded by	Roy Fagan
Succeeded by	Merv Everett
18th Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly
In office 29 October 1956 – 1 June 1959
Preceded by	Horace Strutt
Succeeded by	Charley Aylett
Member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for Braddon (Darwin until 1956)
In office 21 August 1948 – 22 April 1972
Personal details
Born	Kevin Orchard Lyons 7 February 1923 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Died	24 May 2000 (aged 77) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Centre Party (1969–1972)
Other political affiliations	Liberal Party (1948–1966) Independent (1966–1969)
Relations	Joseph Lyons (father) Enid Lyons (mother) Brendan Lyons (brother)

Kevin Orchard Lyons (7 February 1923 – 24 May 2000) was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the seat of Darwin (later renamed Braddon). Born in 1923 in Hobart, he was the son of Joseph Lyons (who would go on to become Premier of Tasmania and later Prime Minister of Australia) and Enid Lyons (who would become the first woman elected to the Australian House of Representatives), and brother of Tasmanian politician Brendan Lyons. Lyons was elected to the House of Assembly for the Liberal Party on 21 August 1948, and from 29 October 1956 to 1 June 1959 was Speaker of the House.^[1]

On 7 September 1966, Lyons resigned from the Liberal Party after a dispute arose over preselection for the upcoming election. He sat as an independent until 1969, when he pulled together the remains of the Tasmania division of the Country Party to form a new party, the Centre Party, with himself as leader. He then ran for election under the Centre Party banner, retaining his seat in Darwin.^[2] The 1969 election resulted in a hung parliament, with Lyons' Centre Party holding the balance of power. Lyons agreed to form a coalition government with the Liberals, and was appointed Deputy Premier under Angus Bethune as Premier. Lyons dissolved the coalition in 1972, and was subsequently critical of Bethune, who lost the 1972 election to Labor's Eric Reece.^[3]

Lyons died in Melbourne on 24 May 2000. A condolence motion was read in the House the next day.^[1]

References

1. LYONS, Kevin Orchard, The Parliament of Tasmania from 1856.
2. On This Day: A Tasmanian Political Almanac, Parliament of Tasmania.
3. Pearce, Garney: Bethune Memorial, Stateline (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 27 August 2004.

External links

• Parliamentary Library profile