Bob Cheek

Robert Reginald 'Bob' Cheek (born 13 May 1944 in Launceston, Tasmania) was leader of the Opposition Tasmanian Liberal Party from 20 August 2001 until he lost his seat in the July 2002 election. It was the first time that a major party leader lost their seat in a Tasmanian election since 1903.

Cheek was first elected to Tasmanian parliament at the 1996 election in the Denison electorate. Prior to entering politics he managed a number of business interests and worked as a journalist for The Mercury as well as editing The Sunday Tasmanian.

Cheek first challenged for Liberal leadership in 1999 running against Sue Napier, he failed to win support and lost 9–2. In 2001, Cheek challenged Napier for the leadership, her support was divided amongst party members and she eventually decided to step aside in favour of him. Rene Hidding became leader after his electoral defeat.

On 15 November 2005, Cheek released a book of his political memoirs – Cheeky: Confessions of a Ferret Salesman (ISBN 0975830309). Prior to becoming a politician, Cheek played Australian rules football in Tasmania for Clarence.

Cheek has gone on to create and manage a successful 24-hour gym enterprise, Zap Fitness. Currently there are 31 clubs in Australia.

Bibliography

• Tasmanian Liberal Party biography
• Tasmanian Parliament biography
• Bob Cheek's maiden speech to parliament at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 June 2002)

Preceded by Sue Napier

Opposition Leader of Tasmania 2001–2002

Succeeded by Rene Hidding