Ian Alexander (politician)

Ian Christopher Alexander (born 14 April 1947) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1987 to 1993, representing the seat of Perth. He was elected as a representative of the Labor Party, but in 1991 left the party to sit as an independent.
Alexander was born in Leeds, England, to Elsie Louise (née Chatterley) and Solomon Schechter Alexander. His father was a grandson of Solomon Schechter, a Romanian Jew who later became a leader of the Jewish community in the United States. Alexander and his family arrived in Western Australia in April 1951. He attended Guildford Grammar School before going on to the University of Western Australia, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in geography in 1968, and a Master of Arts in 1970. Alexander subsequently completed a Master of Philosophy in town planning in 1972, at the University of London, and then a doctorate in urban research in 1981, at the Australian National University in Canberra. Prior to entering politics, he worked as a lecturer at the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), now called Curtin University.
Having joined the Labor Party in 1972, Alexander was elected to the City of Perth council in 1982, serving until 1985. He was elected to state parliament at the 1987 Perth by-election, caused by the resignation of Terry Burke, the sitting Labor member. Alexander retained his seat at the 1989 state election, albeit with a significantly reduced margin. However, in March 1991 he resigned from the Labor Party to sit as an independent, citing "frequent breaches of the party's basic principles and platforms". Alexander did not contest his seat at the 1993 election, and after leaving parliament returned to work as a university lecturer at the University of Western Australia. He joined the Greens Western Australia in 1995, and at the 2001 state election unsuccessfully stood as the Greens candidate for the seat of Fremantle.