Denis Napthine

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Victoria Liberal Leader/ Leader of the Opposition
Denis Napthine
In office 1999 – 2002
Deputy	Louise Asher
Preceded by	Jeff Kennett
Succeeded by	Robert Doyle
Constituency	South West Coast

Born	March 6, 1952 Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Profession	Veterinarian

Dr Denis Vincent Napthine (born 6 March 1952) is an Australian politician for the Liberal Party in the state of Victoria. He is a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of South-West Coast. ^[1] ^[2]

Napthine was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1988 as Member for Portland, as the electorate was then known. He was Youth and Community Services Minister in Jeff Kennett's Liberal government from 1996-1999.

He was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health in 1992 and then promoted to Minister for Youth and Community Services in 1996. He is currently serving as the Liberal's Shadow Minister for Ports, Racing and Regional and Rural Development.

Following the shock defeat of the Liberal Party at the 1999 election, Kennett resigned as Liberal leader, and Napthine was a surprise choice to take his place. During his term as Opposition Leader the Liberal-National coalition split, fracturing the opposition parties.

Throughout his time as Opposition Leader he was also constantly undermined by rivals within his own party room. The most visible dissident was Robert Doyle MP, Member for Malvern. Doyle was supported by sources aligned to a rival group seeking control of the State Party's Administrative committee, this group being closely aligned to the Federal Treasurer, Peter Costello MP, and his University friend Michael Kroger.^{[citation needed]}

Under Napthine's leadership, the Liberal Party did poorly in the polls and did not make any significant electoral inroads on the ruling Labor Government. Shortly before the 2002 state election, Doyle challenged Napthine for the leadership of the Liberal Party. Doyle won the leadership by a narrow margin, but went on to lead the party to its worst electoral defeat ever, in which Napthine nearly lost his seat.

Napthine entered Parliament representing the country seat of Portland in October 1988. He was re-elected in 1992, 1996 and 1999. The electorate was abolished in the 2002 redivision. Napthine was then elected MLA for South-West Coast November 2002. He was re-elected in November 2006 with an increased margin.

Before entering political life he was a veterinarian, undertaking a Bachelor then Masters Degree in Veterinary Science and later a Masters Degree in Business Administration.