John Robert Lee was an Australian politician.

Born at Hedley Hill

Hedley Hill

Hedley Hill is a small village in County Durham, in England. It is situated between Tow Law and Esh Winning....

, Lanchester

Lanchester

Lanchester may refer to:Places*Lanchester, County Durham, village in England*Lanchester Polytechnic, former name of Coventry UniversityPeople*Elsa Lanchester , Oscar-nominated English character actress*Frederick W...

, Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

, to coalminer James Lee and Jessie Watson, he was educated at public schools in Leadgate

Leadgate

Leadgate is the name of several places in the north of England:*Leadgate, County Durham*Leadgate, Cumbria*Leadgate, Gateshead*Leadgate, Northumberland...

 and Durham before attending Cliff College in Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

. He worked as a water works engineer for ten years and became a Methodist minister before coming to Australia in 1910, preaching at Yanco

Yanco, New South Wales

Yanco is a village with a population of 572 in Leeton Shire in South Western New South Wales, Australia. Yanco is a Wiradjuri aboriginal language word meaning the sound of running water. Yanco is located three kilometres from Leeton along the Irrigation Way...

 and Gilgandra

Gilgandra, New South Wales

Gilgandra, is a town and Local Government Area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the junction of the Newell Highway, Oxley Highway and Castlereagh Highway. It can be reached in about six hours by car from Sydney. Like Coonabarabran, Gilgandra can be...

. From 1915 to 1918 he served as a lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 with the 21st Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force

Australian Imperial Force

The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...

. On 28 February 1920 he married Gladys Irene Dickinson. In 1920 Lee was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

 as the Nationalist

Nationalist Party of Australia

The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...

 member for Botany

Electoral district of Botany

Botany was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1894, partly replacing Redfern, and named after and including the Sydney suburb of Botany...

; following the abolition of proportional representation

Proportional representation

Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...

 in 1927 he was elected for Drummoyne

Electoral district of Drummoyne

Drummoyne is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by John Sidoti of the Liberal Party of Australia.-History:...

. He was Nationalist Whip from 1922 to 1927 and Minister for Justice from 1927 to 1930; in 1931 he joined the United Australia Party

United Australia Party

The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...

. From 1934 to 1937 he was also an alderman at Drummoyne, serving as mayor in 1936. He left the Assembly in 1941, and from 1940 to 1943 served again in the AIF. From 1944 to 1945 he was a captain

Captain (OF-2)

The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...

 in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

. Lee died in 1957 at Gordon

Gordon, New South Wales

Gordon is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Gordon is located north-west of the Sydney Central Business District and is the administrative centre for the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council...

.