{{Short description|Australian politician}} {{Use Australian English|date=March 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}} {{Infobox officeholder |honorific_prefix = [[The Honourable]] |name = Norm Baxter |honorific_suffix = |image = |image_size = |office = Member of the [[Western Australian Legislative Council|Legislative Council]]<br/>of [[Western Australia]] |constituency = [[Central Province (Western Australia)|Central Province]] |term_start = 6 May 1950 |term_end = 21 May 1958 |predecessor = None {{Small|(new seat)}} |successor = [[Charles Abbey]] |constituency2 = Central Province |term_start2 = 22 May 1960 |term_end2 = 21 May 1983 |predecessor2 = Sir [[Charles Latham]] |successor2 = [[Gordon Atkinson (Australian politician)|Gordon Atkinson]] |birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|6|21|df=y}} |birth_place = [[West Perth, Western Australia|West Perth]], [[Western Australia]] |death_date = {{Death date and age|2003|11|14|1909|6|21|df=y}} |death_place = [[Perth, Western Australia]] |party = [[National Party of Australia (WA)|Country / National Country]] }} '''Norman Eric Baxter''' (21 June 1909 – 14 November 2003) was an Australian politician who was a member of the [[Western Australian Legislative Council|Legislative Council]] of [[Western Australia]] from 1950 to 1958 and again from 1960 to 1983. He was a minister in the government of Sir [[Charles Court]].
==Early life== Baxter was born in [[Perth]] to Jessica Minnie (née Milsom) and [[Charles Baxter (politician)|Charles Farquharson Baxter]]. His father was also a member of parliament and government minister. Baxter attended the [[Perth Boys High School|Perth Boys' School]] and [[Hale School]]. From 1929 to 1946, he had a farm at [[Balingup, Western Australia|Balingup]], which until 1933 he owned in partnership with his brother. After 1946, Baxter worked as an organiser for the [[National Party of Australia (WA)|Country Party]].<ref name="bio">[http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/(Lookup)/F044A14C38869A64482577E50028A519?OpenDocument Norman Eric Baxter] – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 26 June 2016.</ref>
==Politics== Baxter first ran for parliament at the [[1947 Western Australian state election|1947 state election]], as a [[National Party of Australia (WA)|Country Party]] candidate, but was defeated in the [[Electoral district of Northam|seat of Northam]] by [[Albert Hawke]] (a future [[Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch)|Labor]] premier).<ref name="res">{{cite book|last=Black|first=David|authorlink=David Black (historian)|last2=Prescott|first2=Valerie|title=Election statistics : Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996|year=1997|publisher=Western Australian Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission|location=Perth, [W.A.]|isbn=0730984095}}</ref> In March 1950, his father, who represented [[East Province (Western Australia)|East Province]] in the Legislative Council, died in office. Baxter stood for the resulting by-election (which was held for [[Central Province (Western Australia)|Central Province]] due to a redistribution), and was successful.<ref name="bio"/>
Having served out his father's term, Baxter was re-elected at the [[1952 Western Australian Legislative Council election|1952 Legislative Council election]], but [[1958 Western Australian Legislative Council election|in 1958]] was defeated by [[Charles Abbey]] of the [[Liberal Party of Australia (Western Australian Division)|Liberal Party]]. He re-entered parliament just two years later, following the retirement of Sir [[Charles Latham]], a former Country Party leader. Baxter would be re-elected on another three occasions, at the [[1965 Western Australian state election|1965]], [[1971 Western Australian state election|1971]], and [[1977 Western Australian state election|1977 state elections]]. After the [[Coalition (Australia)|Liberal–NCP coalition]] won power at the [[1974 Western Australian state election|1974 election]], he was made [[Minister for Health (Western Australia)|Minister for Health]] and [[Minister for Community Welfare (Western Australia)|Minister for Community Welfare]] in [[Court–McPharlin Ministry|the new ministry]]. However, the coalition broke in May 1975, and he and the two other NCP ministers ([[Ray McPharlin]] and [[Matt Stephens (politician)|Matt Stephens]]) resigned from cabinet. The disputes which had led to the split were quickly resolved, and Baxter re-entered the ministry the following month, where he remained until a reshuffle following the 1977 election.<ref name="bio"/>
==Later life== Baxter retired from parliament at the [[1983 Western Australian state election|1983 state election]]. He died in Perth in November 2003, aged 94. He had married twice, firstly in 1934 to Dulcie Armour, with whom he had four children. He divorced her in 1966 and remarried the following year to Joan Ellis (née Hughes), although he was widowed in 1998.<ref name="bio"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|au-wa}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=[[Ron Davies (Western Australian politician)|Ron Davies]]<br/>[[Graham MacKinnon]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for Health (Western Australia)|Minister for Health]]|years=1974–1975<br/>1975–1977}} {{s-aft|after=[[Graham MacKinnon]]<br/>[[Alan Ridge]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[Ron Thompson (Australian politician)|Ron Thompson]]<br/>[[Graham MacKinnon]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for Community Welfare (Western Australia)|Minister for Community Welfare]]|years=1974–1975<br/>1975–1977}} {{s-aft|after=[[Graham MacKinnon]]<br/>[[Alan Ridge]]}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Norm}} [[Category:1909 births]] [[Category:2003 deaths]] [[Category:National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia]] [[Category:Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council]] [[Category:People educated at Hale School]] [[Category:Politicians from Perth, Western Australia]] [[Category:Ministers for health (Western Australia)]]