Robert William Clark (born 11 March 1957) is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1988 to 2018, representing the electorates of Balwyn (1988–1992) and Box Hill (1992–2018). He served as Attorney-General and Minister for Finance in the Baillieu Ministry and Napthine Ministry from 2010 to 2014, and also served as Minister for Industrial Relations under Napthine from 2013 to 2014. He had previously served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer (1992–1996) and Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury and Multimedia (1996–1999) during the Kennett government. Early life Having attended both St. Albans High School and University High School, Clark undertook his tertiary education at the University of Melbourne, obtaining his BCom (Hons) in 1980, an LLB in 1982 and a BA in 1986. Student activism Whilst at university, Clark became active in both the Melbourne University Liberal Club and the Australian Liberal Students' Federation, serving as the president (1979–81) and vice-president (1981–82) respectively of those organisations. While serving also as the treasurer of the Melbourne University Students' Representative Council (1976–77), Clark was responsible for legal proceedings brought against the university concerning the collection of the student service fee. The action challenged the right of the University Council to award such funds to the SRC, and the subsequent right of the SRC to allocate those funds to the Australian Union of Students. In what was called the Kaye Judgement, the court ruled that the Student Service Fee was not a fee for services provided but was essentially a tax or charge. It was further ruled that the University of Melbourne was a "public authority exercising legislative powers", in that the university was unduly exercising a power in the absence of legislative approval from Parliament. Clark's instrumental role in these actions resulted in significant changes to the law relating to student unionism in Victoria. Entry into politics Clark joined the Liberal Party in 1976. He was an executive member of the Victorian Young Liberal Movement in 1986 and was vice-chairman of the Deakin Electorate Committee from 1986 to 1988. He has also been a member of the Party's Constitutional Committee since 1987. Member of Victorian State Parliament After working as a solicitor practicing in commercial, financial and labour law from 1983 to 1988, Clark was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Balwyn on 1 October 1988. Following the division of electorate boundaries