# Ron Best > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ron_Best > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ron_Best.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Best > Source revision: 1346489577 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Australian politician (1949–2020)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}} {{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}} '''Ronald Alexander Best''' (3 October 1949 – 14 October 2020) was an Australian politician and [Australian rules football](/source/Australian_rules_football)er. He was a [National Party](/source/National_Party_of_Australia_%E2%80%93_Victoria) member of the [Victorian Legislative Council](/source/Victorian_Legislative_Council) from 1988 to 2002, representing [North Western Province](/source/North_Western_Province_(Victoria)).{{Cite Parliament of Victoria Member Profile |name=Ronald Alexander Best |id=ron-best |access-date=31 July 2025}} ==Career== Best was born in [Ivanhoe](/source/Ivanhoe%2C_Victoria), [Victoria](/source/Victoria_(Australia)). He was a businessman before entering politics. He was a [motel](/source/motel) and [hotel](/source/hotel) owner and manager and also owned Golden City Frozen Foods. He was on the board of directors of the Glacier Food Group. He contested the federal seat of [Bendigo](/source/Division_of_Bendigo) for the [National Party of Australia](/source/National_Party_of_Australia) at the [1987 federal election](/source/1987_Australian_federal_election) but was defeated. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110331151718/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/re-member/bioregfull.cfm?mid=62 |title=Best, Ronald ('Ron') Alexander |date=31 March 2011}} In 1988, Best was elected to the [Victorian Legislative Council](/source/Victorian_Legislative_Council) for [North Western Province](/source/North_Western_Province_(Victoria)). He was the National Party's spokesman for Housing, Construction and Small Business until 1990 and secretary of the Parliamentary National Party from 1992 to 2002. Following the [Coalition](/source/Coalition_(Australia))'s defeat in 1999, he was promoted to the front bench as Shadow Minister for Housing. He retired in 2002. He married [Liberal](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Australia_(Victorian_Division)) MP [Louise Asher](/source/Louise_Asher) on 10 February 2001. He is survived by his children from his first marriage, Chris and Elizabeth, and two grandchildren, Ari and Eden.{{cite news |last1=Harris |first1=Rob |title='The greatest never': Former Nationals MP and country footy legend dies |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-greatest-never-former-nationals-mp-and-country-footy-legend-dies-20201015-p565fd.html |accessdate=2020-10-15 |work=The Age |date=2020-10-15}} ==Football== Best kicked 1919 goals in country football, mostly in the [Bendigo Football League](/source/Bendigo_Football_League). He topped 100 goals in a season on 13 occasions. *1966: 60 [Heidelberg](/source/Heidelberg_Football_Club), [Diamond Valley Football League](/source/Diamond_Valley_Football_League) *1967: 68 [Heidelberg](/source/Heidelberg_Football_Club) *1968: 106 [Golden Square](/source/Golden_Square_Football_Club), [Bendigo Football League](/source/Bendigo_Football_League) *1969: 137 [Golden Square](/source/Golden_Square_Football_Club) *1970: 107 [Golden Square](/source/Golden_Square_Football_Club) *1971: 111 [Golden Square](/source/Golden_Square_Football_Club) *1972: 79 Charlton, [North Central Football League](/source/North_Central_Football_League) *1973: 108 [Sandhurst](/source/Sandhurst_Football_Club), [Bendigo Football League](/source/Bendigo_Football_League) *1974: 135 [Sandhurst](/source/Sandhurst_Football_Club) *1975: 145 [Sandhurst](/source/Sandhurst_Football_Club) *1976: 108 [Sandhurst](/source/Sandhurst_Football_Club) *1977: 25 [Sandhurst](/source/Sandhurst_Football_Club) *1978: 124 [Golden Square](/source/Golden_Square_Football_Club) *1979: 132 [Golden Square](/source/Golden_Square_Football_Club) *1980: 161 [Golden Square](/source/Golden_Square_Football_Club) *1981: 100 Boort, [North Central Football League](/source/North_Central_Football_League) *1982: 25 Boort *1983: 124 Northern United, [Bendigo Football League](/source/Bendigo_Football_League) *1984: 64 Northern United{{cite news |last1=Piesse |first1=Ken |title=Ron Best: simply the best |url=http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/08/19/104085_print_friendly_article.html |accessdate=2020-10-15 |work=Weekly Times |date=2009-08-19 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330063745/http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/08/19/104085_print_friendly_article.html |archivedate=2012-03-30}} ==References== {{reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Best, Ron}} Category:1949 births Category:2020 deaths Category:National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Category:Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Category:Golden Square Football Club players Category:Sandhurst Football Club players Category:Australian hoteliers Category:21st-century Australian politicians Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Victoria (state) Category:Australian rules footballers from Bendigo Category:People from Ivanhoe, Victoria Category:Politicians from Melbourne --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ron Best](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Best) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Best?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.