Sir Harry Sutherland Wightman Lawson KCMG (5 March 1875 – 12 June 1952),[1] was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Victoria from 1918 to 1924.

[2] In a by-election in December 1899, Lawson was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Castlemaine as a Liberal,[3][4] and represented the district, in its different incarnations, for 28 years.

He remained loyal to Peacock when most country Liberal members supported John Bowser's rural faction, the Economy Party.

When Bowser's short-lived government ended with his resignation in March 1918, Lawson succeeded him, also holding the portfolios of Attorney-General and Minister of Labour.

He was helped by Labor's continuing inability to win seats outside its strongholds in the industrial suburbs of Melbourne and a few provincial towns.

[2] The biggest test Lawson faced was the 1923 Victorian Police strike, which saw riots and looting in the streets of Melbourne.

After unsuccessfully contesting the Speakership, Lawson retired to the back bench, where he stayed until October 1928,[1] when he quit state politics altogether.