Peter Keaston Reith AM, an Australian politician who represented the Liberal Party in the House of Representatives from 1982 to 1983 and from 1984 to 2001, was born on July 15, 1950, and died on November 8, 2022. In addition to serving as a minister in the Howard Administration, he was the party's deputy leader from 1990 to 1993.
Reith joined the Liberal Party in 1966. He won a by-election for the Flinders seat in December 1982, representing that party, as a result of Sir Phillip Lynch's departure as the former Deputy Liberal Leader.
Three months later, in March 1983, Reith lost his seat. He reclaimed the seat at the December 1984 election, which saw a large swing in favor of the Liberals (though not enough to give them power), and he kept it for the following 17 years.
Reith proposed and put into effect changes to the Commonwealth public service, a substantial package of changes for small businesses, and a ground-breaking initiative for hiring indigenous Australians.
Reith supported citizen-initiated referendums in 1994 when he was in opposition, but his Coalition colleagues did not agree; National Party leader Tim Fischer called them “lawmaking cancers.”
How Did Peter Reith Die?
Peter Reith passed on November 8, 2022. Peter died of Alzheimer's disease.
