Gough Whitlam
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.
Gough Whitlam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 21st Prime Minister of Australia Elections: 1969, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977 | |
| In office 5 December 1972 – 11 November 1975 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General | Sir Paul Hasluck Sir John Kerr |
| Deputy | Lance Barnard Jim Cairns Frank Crean |
| Preceded by | William McMahon |
| Succeeded by | Malcolm Fraser |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 5 December 1972 – 6 November 1973 | |
| Prime Minister | Gough Whitlam |
| Preceded by | Nigel Bowen |
| Succeeded by | Don Willesee |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 11 November 1975 – 22 December 1977 | |
| Deputy | Frank Crean Tom Uren |
| Preceded by | Malcolm Fraser |
| Succeeded by | Bill Hayden |
| In office 9 February 1967 – 5 December 1972 | |
| Deputy | Lance Barnard |
| Preceded by | Arthur Calwell |
| Succeeded by | Billy Snedden |
| Leader of the Labor Party | |
| In office 9 February 1967 – 22 December 1977 | |
| Deputy | Lance Barnard Jim Cairns Frank Crean Tom Uren |
| Preceded by | Arthur Calwell |
| Succeeded by | Bill Hayden |
| Deputy Leader of the Labor Party | |
| In office 7 March 1960 – 9 February 1967 | |
| Leader | Arthur Calwell |
| Preceded by | Arthur Calwell |
| Succeeded by | Lance Barnard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Gough Whitlam 11 July 1916 Kew, Melbourne, Australia |
| Died | 21 October 2014 (aged 98) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Whitlam (m. 1942-2012) |
| Children | Tony Nicholas Stephen Catherine |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney |
| Profession | Barrister |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Commonwealth of Australia |
| Branch/service | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank |  Flight Lieutenant |
| Unit | No. 13 Squadron RAAF |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Early life
changeWhitlam 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
changeWhitlam 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
changeWhitlam 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
changeWhitlam 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- ↑ http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/whitlam Archived 2009-09-16 at the Wayback Machine Prime ministers of Australia
- ↑ 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) - ↑ 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) - ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Gough Whitlam dies at age 98". The Guardian. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
Other websites
change Media related to Gough Whitlam at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to Gough Whitlam at Wikiquote
- Gough Whitlam Archived 2014-10-24 at the Wayback Machine – Australia's Prime Ministers / National Archives of Australia
- The Whitlam Institute
- The Whitlam Dismissal – 11 November 1975
- Dismissal letter Archived 2015-04-28 at the Wayback Machine – Copy of dismissal letter
- Gough Whitlam at the National Film and Sound Archive Archived 2009-05-20 at the Library of Congress Web Archives
- Video of Norman Gunston, Gough Whitlam, Bill Hayden and Bob Hawke at 'The Dismissal' on YouTube
- Video of Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser in their pro-republic commercial on YouTube
- Gurindji Land Ceremony Speech – transcript and audio from August 1975
- Listen to an excerpt of Gough Whitlam's 'Kerr's Cur' speech on australianscreen online
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