Hawke Government
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The Honourable Bob Hawke AC, GCL |
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23rd Prime Minister of Australia Elections: 1983, 1984, 1987, 1990 |
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In office 11 March 1983 – 20 December 1991 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General |
Ninian Stephen Bill Hayden |
| Deputy |
Lionel Bowen (1983–1990) Paul Keating (1990–1991) Brian Howe (1991) |
| Preceded by | Malcolm Fraser |
| Succeeded by | Paul Keating |
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This article is part of a series about Bob Hawke |
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Prime Minister of Australia Term of Government (1983-1991)
Ministries Elections
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The Hawke Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke of the Australian Labor Party from 1983 to 1991. The Government followed the Liberal-National Coalition Fraser Government and was succeeded by another Labor administration: the Keating Government, led by Paul Keating after an internal party leadership challenge in 1991. Keating served as Treasurer through much of Hawke's term as Prime Minister and the period is sometimes termed the Hawke-Keating Government despite the fact that there were fundamental differences between the two men and their policies.
Bob Hawke served as president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) from 1969 to 1980. On 14 October 1980, he was preselected as the Australian Labor Party candidate for the Seat of Wills and resigned from the ACTU. Hawke won the seat at the 1980 Election and was appointed as Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations, Employment and Youth Affairs by Opposition Leader Bill Hayden. In 1982, amongst the early 1980s recession, he initiated a leadership challenge against Hayden, and narrowly lost. At the February 1983 Funeral of former Labor Prime Minister Frank Forde, Hayden was persuaded by colleagues to step down, leaving the way open for Hawke to assume leadership of the ALP. In announcing his resignation, Hayden famously remarked that, given the electoral climate, "a drover's dog could lead the Labor Party to victory".
Long serving Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser announced an election that same day, with a date set for 5 March. Hawke served just one month as Opposition Leader before taking the ALP to victory against Fraser at the 1983 Election. Labor had been out of office since the divisive Dismissal of the Whitlam Government in 1975.
Hawke led the Australian Labor Party to a landslide victory against Malcolm Fraser's Liberal-National Coalition Government at the 1983 Australian Federal Election, with Labor seizing 75 seats in the Australian House of Representatives against the Liberal Party's 33 and the National Party 17. He went on to become Australia's longest serving Labor prime minister and remains the third longest serving Australian prime minister after Robert Menzies and John Howard.
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