Mark Latham
| Mark Latham | |
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Latham in 2003
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Leader of the Opposition Elections: 2004 |
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In office 2 December 2003 – 18 January 2005 |
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| Prime Minister | John Howard |
| Deputy | Jenny Macklin |
| Preceded by | Simon Crean |
| Succeeded by | Kim Beazley |
| Leader of the Labor Party | |
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In office 2 December 2003 – 18 January 2005 |
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| Deputy | Jenny Macklin |
| Preceded by | Simon Crean |
| Succeeded by | Kim Beazley |
| Manager of Opposition Business in the House | |
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In office 16 June 2003 – 8 December 2003 |
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| Leader | Simon Crean |
| Preceded by | Bob McMullan |
| Succeeded by | Julia Gillard |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Werriwa | |
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In office 28 January 1994 – 18 January 2005 |
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| Preceded by | John Kerin |
| Succeeded by | Chris Hayes |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 February 1961 Ashcroft, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party (1980-2005) |
| Spouse(s) | Janine Lacey |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney (BEc Hons) |
Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) is a former Australian politician who was the leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005. He led the party at the 2004 federal election.
Born in Sydney, Latham attended Hurlstone Agricultural High School before going on to study economics at the University of Sydney. He was elected to the Liverpool City Council in 1987, and became mayor in 1991. Latham entered federal parliament at a 1994 by-election for the Division of Werriwa, a safe Labor seat. He was included in Labor's shadow cabinet after the 1996 federal election, but left the frontbench in 1998 following a dispute with the party leader, Kim Beazley. He returned to the shadow cabinet in 2001, when Simon Crean became leader.
Latham became leader of the Labor Party in December 2003, following Simon Crean's resignation, when he narrowly defeated Kim Beazley in a leadership election. He was the youngest leader of the party since Chris Watson in 1901. At the 2004 federal election, the Labor Party lost five seats and reduced its share of the two-party-preferred vote, with the incumbent prime minister, John Howard, re-elected to a fourth term. Latham resigned as leader in January 2005, and left parliament at the same time. After leaving politics, he published a controversial memoir, The Latham Diaries, in which he condemned the general state of political life in Australia.
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