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Des Corcoran

The Honourable
Des Corcoran
AO
Des corcoran.jpeg
37th Premier of South Australia
Elections: 1979
In office
15 February 1979 – 18 September 1979
Monarch Elizabeth II
Governor Sir Keith Seaman
Deputy Hugh Hudson
Preceded by Don Dunstan
Succeeded by David Tonkin
31st Leader of the Opposition (SA)
In office
18 September 1979 – 2 October 1979
Preceded by David Tonkin
Succeeded by John Bannon
15th Australian Labor Party (SA) leader
In office
1979–1979
Preceded by Don Dunstan
Succeeded by John Bannon
Treasurer of South Australia
In office
15 February 1979 – 18 September 1979
Premier Des Corcoran
Preceded by Don Dunstan
Succeeded by John Bannon
Member of the South Australian Parliament
for Hartley
In office
17 September 1977 – 6 November 1982
Preceded by New district
Succeeded by Terry Groom
Member of the South Australian Parliament
for Coles
In office
12 July 1975 – 17 September 1977
Preceded by Len King
Succeeded by Jennifer Cashmore
Member of the South Australian Parliament
for Millicent
In office
3 March 1962 – 12 July 1975
Preceded by Jim Corcoran
Succeeded by Murray Vandepeer
Personal details
Born James Desmond Corcoran
(1928-11-08)8 November 1928
Millicent, South Australia
Died 3 January 2004(2004-01-03) (aged 75)
Adelaide, South Australia
Political party Australian Labor Party (SA)

James Desmond "Des" Corcoran AO (8 November 1928 – 3 January 2004) was an Australian politician, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. He was the 37th Premier of South Australia, serving between 15 February 1979 and 18 September 1979. He also served as the 1st Deputy Premier of South Australia in 1968 and again from 1970 to 1979.

Born in Millicent, South Australia, Corcoran joined Labor in 1941. He enlisted in the Australian Army and fought in the Korean War (where he was mentioned in dispatches), as well as serving in Japan, Malaya and New Guinea.

Corcoran left the Army in 1961 and in 1962 was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly Electoral district of Millicent, succeeding his father, Jim Corcoran. Corcoran quickly impressed many within the Labor Party with his vigorous approach and his talent for administration. When the ALP won government in South Australia in 1965 for the first time in 32 years, Corcoran became Minister of Irrigation, Minister of Lands, and Minister of Repatriation. The new Premier, Frank Walsh, made Corcoran his chief political confidant. Like Walsh, Corcoran was a firm anti-communist and a devout Catholic. In fact, Walsh attempted to groom Corcoran as his successor, hoping to foil the ambitions of Deputy Leader Don Dunstan, whom Walsh resented and distrusted. Following the septuagenarian Walsh's retirement in 1967, Corcoran challenged Dunstan for the leadership, but lost by three votes. As a concession to Corcoran, Dunstan named him Deputy Leader. Dunstan also created the post of Deputy Premier of South Australia for Corcoran. In Dunstan's 1967-68 Cabinet, Corcoran dropped the Repatriation portfolio in favor of Immigration.


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