Francis Smith

Who was Francis Smith?

Sir Francis Villeneuve Smith was a British lawyer, judge and politician, who was the fourth Premier of Tasmania from 12 May 1857 until 1 November 1860.

Smith was born in Lindfield in the English county of Sussex, the eldest son of London merchant Francis Smith and Marie Josephine Villeneuve. Smith would acknowledge his mother's ancestry from French naval admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve by adopting her surname in 1861. The Smith family emigrated to the Australian colony of Van Diemen'sLand in 1826, settling in Campania near Richmond. Smith, however, returned to England to further his education, studying law at Middle Temple and arts at University College London. He was admitted to the Bar on 27 May 1842.

In 1851 he became a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council and soon after became Attorney-General. He was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly in 1856. He was Attorney General in William Champ's first ministry from 1 November 1856 until 26 February 1857. When William Weston's ministry collapsed he proceeded to form his own with himself as Premier and Attorney General, he held office for three years until 1860 becoming the first Premier of Tasmania to hold office for more than one year.