Name George Holden | Role Politician | |
George Kenyon Holden, MLC (1808 – 16 April 1874) was an English-born Australian politician and businessman. A friend and correspondent of John Stuart Mill, Holden is best known for being one of the first politicians in the world to advocate the adoption of a proportional representation electoral system using the Hare quota, as had been recommended by Mill. He made the proposal to the New South Wales Legislative Council while a member of parliament in 1861.
Biography
He was born in Worcester to sugar refiner Adam Holden and Maria Gillam. He studied law and became a solicitor, migrating to New South Wales in 1831. He was private secretary to Governor Sir Richard Bourke during his term (1831–37), and was also a stipendiary magistrate at Campbelltown. In 1837 he became Crown Prosecutor in the Quarter Sessions, and in 1838 he began private practice as a solicitor. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1856 to 1861 and from 1861 to 1863. An active member of parliament, Holden was secretary of the Law Commission between 1848 and 1850; a member of the Board of National Education in 1949; president of the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts; trustee of the New South Wales Savings Bank; and director of the Liverpool and London Fire and Life Insurance Company, among other commitments. His daughter Mary Jane married another NSW politician and businessman, John Brown Watt. Holden died at Darlinghurst in 1874.