Richard Court - Definition and Overview

Richard Court was Liberal Party Premier of Western Australia between 1993 and 2001. He was the son of Sir Charles Court who was also Premier of Western Australia between 1974 and 1982. He was educated at Hale School and his sister-in-law Margaret Smith Court was one of the best tennis players in the twentieth century.

Court was elected in 1993 after the Labor Party was associated with the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s. He ordered a Royal Commission into the involvement of his predecessor as Premier, Carmen Lawrence, in the events leading up to the suicide of Penny Easton. Lawrence was eventually cleared of three charges of perjury to the Royal Commission in 1999.

Court's Government was easily re-elected in an election in 1996. However, its popularity suffered in his second term as Premier due to scandals and was narrowly defeated by a rejuvenated Labor Party led by Dr Geoff Gallop in 2001. The leakage of preferences from the Liberals for Forests formed to protest the logging of old growth forests in the state and the unpopularity of the Federal Liberal Government of John Howard due to the introduction of the GST also contributed to the narrow defeat of the Court Government. Richard Court retired from politics after the defeat of his Government.