Jeff Kennett
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The Honourable Jeff Kennett AC |
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| 43rd Premier of Victoria Elections: 1985, 1988, 1992, 1996, 1999 |
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In office 6 October 1992 – 20 October 1999 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor |
Richard McGarvie Sir James Gobbo |
| Deputy | Pat McNamara |
| Preceded by | Joan Kirner |
| Succeeded by | Steve Bracks |
| Leader of the Opposition of Victoria | |
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In office 19 October 1999 – 26 October 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Steve Bracks |
| Succeeded by | Denis Napthine |
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In office 23 April 1991 – 6 October 1992 |
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| Preceded by | Alan Brown |
| Succeeded by | Joan Kirner |
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In office 5 November 1982 – 23 May 1989 |
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| Preceded by | Lindsay Thompson |
| Succeeded by | Alan Brown |
| Member of the Victorian Parliament for Burwood |
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In office 20 March 1976 – 2 November 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Constituency re-established |
| Succeeded by | Bob Stensholt |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jeffrey Gibb Kennett 2 March 1948 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Political party | Liberal Party of Australia |
| Spouse(s) | Felicity Kellar (m. 1972) |
| Profession | Media commentator, former politician |
Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC (born 2 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999 and a current media commentator. He was the President of Hawthorn Football Club from 2005 - 2011. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national organisation "working to reduce the impact of depression and anxiety in the community".
Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March 1948, and educated at Scotch College. Kennett was an unexceptional student academically, but did well in Scotch's Cadet Corps Unit. His failure to rise above the middle band academically almost led him to quit school in Fourth Form (Year 10 – 1963), but he was persuaded to stay on. His Fifth and Sixth Forms were an improvement, but he was still described in school reports as "[a] confident and at times helpful boy. Sometimes irritates. Sometimes works hard" (1964), and "[a] keen, pleasant, though sometimes erratic boy" (1965).
After leaving school, Kennett was persuaded by his father Ken to attend the Australian National University in Canberra, but lost interest and left after one year of an economics degree. He returned to Melbourne and found work in the advertising department of the retail giant Myer – kindling an interest for advertising that would one day earn him his living.
Kennett's life in the regular workforce was cut short when, in 1968, he was conscripted into the Australian Army. Kennett was singled out as 'officer material' early in his career, and graduated third in his class from the Officer Training Unit, Scheyville (OTU) Scheyville, near Windsor, New South Wales, outside Sydney. He was posted to Malaysia and Singapore as Second Lieutenant, commander of 1st Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR). This military career (and his earlier experience in the Scotch College Cadet Corps) has been noted by many biographers as an essential formative influence on the adult Kennett's character. His sense and regard for hierarchical loyalty, punctuality, and general intolerance of dissent or disobedience may be traced to this period.
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Wikipedia