Gough Whitlam

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Gough Whitlam
21st Prime Minister of Australia
Elections: 1969, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977
In office
5 December 1972 – 11 November 1975
MonarchElizabeth II
Governor-GeneralSir Paul Hasluck
Sir John Kerr
DeputyLance Barnard
Jim Cairns
Frank Crean
Preceded byWilliam McMahon
Succeeded byMalcolm Fraser
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
5 December 1972 – 6 November 1973
Prime MinisterGough Whitlam
Preceded byNigel Bowen
Succeeded byDon Willesee
Leader of the Opposition
In office
11 November 1975 – 22 December 1977
DeputyFrank Crean
Tom Uren
Preceded byMalcolm Fraser
Succeeded byBill Hayden
In office
9 February 1967 – 5 December 1972
DeputyLance Barnard
Preceded byArthur Calwell
Succeeded byBilly Snedden
Leader of the Labor Party
In office
9 February 1967 – 22 December 1977
DeputyLance Barnard
Jim Cairns
Frank Crean
Tom Uren
Preceded byArthur Calwell
Succeeded byBill Hayden
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party
In office
7 March 1960 – 9 February 1967
LeaderArthur Calwell
Preceded byArthur Calwell
Succeeded byLance Barnard
Personal details
Born
Edward Gough Whitlam

(1916-07-11)11 July 1916
Kew, Melbourne, Australia
Died21 October 2014(2014-10-21) (aged 98)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyAustralian Labor Party
Spouse(s)Margaret Whitlam (m. 1942-2012)
ChildrenTony
Nicholas
Stephen
Catherine
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
ProfessionBarrister
Signature
Military service
AllegianceCommonwealth of Australia
Branch/serviceRoyal Australian Air Force
Years of service1941–1945
Rank Flight Lieutenant
UnitNo. 13 Squadron RAAF
Battles/warsWorld War II

Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 1916 – 21 October 2014), known "Gough Whitlam", was an Australian politician. He was the 21st Prime Minister of Australia.,[1] and the only Prime Minister to have been dismissed from office by a Governor-General. He was Prime Minister for three years. His Labor Party was elected after 23 years of government by the Liberal-Country Party Coalition, and his government made a lot of new changes. Whitlam is the only Prime Minister who has lived in the lifetime of all the other Prime Ministers.

Early life[change | change source]

Whitlam was born in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. He studied at the University of Sydney. Whitlam served at the Royal Australian Air Force from 1941 through 1945 during World War II.

Prime Minister of Australia[change | change source]

Whitlam became Prime Minister in December 1972. He succeeded William McMahon. His government, for most of the time it lasted, did not have a majority in the Senate (the upper house of the Australian Parliament). This made it hard for Whitlam's government to make laws. The Whitlam government nevertheless made progress in many areas including free health care for everyone, equal rights for women, equal rights for Aboriginal people including the right to own or control land, no more compulsory military service, trade relations with communist China, free tertiary education, and the chance for people with low incomes to get a lawyer to defend their rights.

In 1975, the government thought about borrowing US$4 billion in foreign loans. One cabinet minister, Rex Connor, had secret discussions with a loan broker from Pakistan. The Treasurer, Jim Cairns, misled parliament over this. Partly as a result, the new leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Fraser, used the Senate to stop giving money to the government until there was an election. This meant that the government had no money with which to pay civil servants and carry out administration. In order to end the crisis, the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, acting on behalf of Queen Elisabeth II, dismissed Whitlam. That happened only once in Australian history and many people thought it was unjust and undemocratic. Fraser then became the temporary Prime Minister. Whitlam was easily defeated by Fraser in the election that was held a month later.[2]

Whitlam was defeated for a second time by Fraser at the next election in 1977, and resigned from parliament shortly after that. From then until his death in 2014 then he continued to be a very public figure, writing books and often commenting on political affairs.

Death[change | change source]

Whitlam married Margaret Dovey a prominent Australian swimmer and social worker in 1942 and they remained married till her death on 17 March 2012.[3] On 21 October 2014, Whitlam died in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, New South Wales at the age of 98.[4][5]

Legacy[change | change source]

Whitlam is one of the most controversial people in Australia. Many people think of him as a hero while others consider his government to have been inefficient.

References[change | change source]

  1. http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/whitlam Archived 2009-09-16 at the Wayback Machine Prime ministers of Australia
  2. corporateName=National Archives of Australia; address=Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes. "In office - Gough Whitlam (5 December 1972 – 11 November 1975) and Margaret Whitlam". primeministers.naa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. corporateName=National Archives of Australia; address=Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes. "Margaret Whitlam - Gough Whitlam (5 December 1972 – 11 November 1975) and Margaret Whitlam". primeministers.naa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 8 December 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "Former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam dead at 98". news.com.au. 21 October 2014. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  5. "Gough Whitlam dies at age 98". The Guardian. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.

Other websites[change | change source]

Media related to Gough Whitlam at Wikimedia Commons Quotations related to Gough Whitlam at Wikiquote

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