The Honourable Gough Whitlam AC QC |
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21st Prime Minister of Australia Elections: 1969, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977 |
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In office 5 December 1972 – 11 November 1975 |
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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 |
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Prime Minister | Gough Whitlam |
Preceded by | Nigel Bowen |
Succeeded by | Don Willesee |
Leader of the Opposition | |
In office 11 November 1975 – 22 December 1977 |
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Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
Deputy | Frank Crean Tom Uren |
Preceded by | Malcolm Fraser |
Succeeded by | Bill Hayden |
In office 9 February 1967 – 5 December 1972 |
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Prime Minister |
Harold Holt John McEwen John Gorton William McMahon |
Deputy | Lance Barnard |
Preceded by | Arthur Calwell |
Succeeded by | William McMahon |
Leader of the Labor Party | |
In office 9 February 1967 – 22 December 1977 |
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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 |
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Leader | Arthur Calwell |
Preceded by | Arthur Calwell |
Succeeded by | Lance Barnard |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Werriwa |
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In office 29 November 1952 – 31 July 1978 |
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Preceded by | Bert Lazzarini |
Succeeded by | John Kerin |
Personal details | |
Born |
Edward Gough Whitlam 11 July 1916 Kew, Melbourne, Australia |
Died |
21 October 2014 (aged 98) Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, Australia |
Political party | Australian Labor Party |
Spouse(s) | Margaret Whitlam (m. 1942; d. 2012) |
Children | 4, including Tony and Nicholas |
Education | |
Profession | Barrister |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Commonwealth of Australia |
Service/branch | Royal Australian Air Force |
Years of service | 1941–45 |
Rank | Flight Lieutenant |
Unit | No. 13 Squadron RAAF |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC (/ˈɡɒf ˈwɪtləm/ 11 July 1916 – 21 October 2014) was the 21st Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The Leader of the Labor Party from 1967 to 1977, Whitlam led his party to power for the first time in 23 years at the 1972 election. He won the 1974 election before being controversially dismissed by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr, at the climax of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Whitlam remains the only Australian prime minister to have his commission terminated in that manner.
Whitlam served in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II for four years as airforce navigator in the Pacific and worked as a barrister following the war. He was first elected to Parliament in 1952, representing Werriwa in the House of Representatives. Whitlam became Deputy Leader of the Labor Party in 1960, and in 1967, after the retirement of Arthur Calwell, was elected Leader and became the Leader of the Opposition. After narrowly losing the 1969 election, Whitlam led Labor to victory at the 1972 election after 23 years of continuous Liberal-Country Coalition Government.