Jonathan Best was an Australian politician. He was born in Launceston, Tasmania

Launceston, Tasmania

Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...

. In 1894 he was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly

Tasmanian House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House...

 as the member for Deloraine

Electoral district of Deloraine

The Electoral district of Deloraine was a single-member electoral district of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. It was based around the town of Deloraine in Tasmania's north-east between the centres of Launceston and Devonport....

. He was defeated in 1897 but served again from 1899 to 1909, when 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...

 was introduced. He was elected as one of the members for Wilmot

Division of Lyons (state)

The Electoral Division of Lyons, Tasmania is one of the 5 electorates in the Tasmanian House of Assembly, the lower house. The division is named after Joseph Lyons, Prime Minister of Australia 1931–39, Premier of Tasmania from 1923–1928 and his wife Dame Enid Lyons, the first woman elected to the...

 and served until his defeat in 1912; he was re-elected in 1913 but died in office at Launceston later that year. He was a member of the Anti-Socialist and Liberal

Commonwealth Liberal Party

The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....

parties.