Raymond Steele Hall (born 30 November 1928) is a former Australian politician who served as the 36th Premier of South Australia from 1968 to 1970. He also served in the federal Parliament as a senator for South Australia from 1974 to 1977 and federal member for the Division of Boothby from 1981 to 1996. Hall was a state parliamentarian from 1959 to 1974, serving as Liberal and Country League (LCL) leader from 1966 to 1972 and premier from 1968 to 1970. He introduced electoral reform, removing the Playmander which favoured the LCL, which contributed to his party's loss at the 1970 South Australian state election. In 1972 he founded the Liberal Movement (LM), and resigned from the LCL when the LM split from the LCL in 1973. He continued as a state parliamentarian until he resigned his seat in 1974 to be the LM's lead senate candidate at the 1974 Australian federal election. Hall won a senate seat for the LM at both the 1974 and 1975 elections. After the LM disbanded in 1976 he rejoined the Liberal Party, as it was now called in South Australia, and he resigned from the senate in 1977 to contest the seat of Hawker at the 1977 Federal election, but was unsuccessful. In 1981 he won the seat of Boothby at the 1981 by-election, and remained the Liberal member for Boothby until his retirement in 1996. Early life Hall was born on 30 November 1928 in Balaklava, South Australia, the son of Florence (née Fisher) and Sidney Hall. He attended primary school in Owen and subsequently graduated from Balaklava High School. After leaving school he worked on the family property in Owen, an sheep and wheat farm. Political career State politics Hall was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly as the Liberal and Country League (LCL) member for Gouger, based on Balaklava, at the 1959 election. Quickly gaining a reputation for his independence and strength of his views, Hall rose through the LCL parliamentary ranks to assume party leadership following Sir Thomas Playford's retirement in July 1966. Playford, who had earlier served as premier for 26 years, endorsed Hall as his successor. Although Hall was considerably more progressive than Playford, the two men shared a background as small farmers, rather than members of the rural elite or the Adelaide establishment. Playford realised that the LCL needed a new image and new