Charles Alfred Lee (13 November 1842 – 16 August 1926) was an Australian shopkeeper and conservative parliamentarian who served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for 35 years.

Serving from 1884 for Tenterfield, he entered the Free Trade Party cabinet of George Reid in 1898 as Minister for Justice and briefly as Secretary for Public Works in 1899 until he returned to opposition in late 1899.

He served with distinction, overseeing the expansion of rural infrastructure, under Carruthers and his successor Charles Wade, until the government lost office to the Labor Party in 1910.

[1] In 1869, Lee moved with his family to Tenterfield, in northern New South Wales, "for the sake of the bracing climate of New England",[3] where he purchased Maryland Stores.

Settling in his large pastoral property, 'Claremont', Lee became President of the Prince Albert Memorial Hospital Board, the Tenterfield Railway League, and the School of Arts.

[5] Retiring from his business, Lee was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Tenterfield uncontested on 20 November 1884, when the previous member, Henry Parkes, resigned.

Although respected as an MP, Lee's genial and quiet manner proved highly unsuited for leadership and he eventually resigned on 17 September 1902 in favour of Carruthers.

Serving through Carruther's successor, Charles Wade, to the government's fall on 20 October 1910, Lee presided over an extensive public works programme.