Bob Hawke

• Born: December 9, 1929
• Birthplace: Bordertown, Australia
• Died: May 16, 2019
• Place of death: Northbridge, Australia

Australian politician and former prime minister

Also known as: Robert James Lee Hawke

Education: University of Western Australia; Oxford University; Australian National University (attended until 1958)

Significance: The Honourable Bob Hawke was the longest-serving prime minister of Australia for the Australian Labor Party, serving from 1983 to 1991.

Background

Bob Hawke was born Robert James Lee Hawke on December 9, 1929, in Bordertown, South Australia. The younger of two sons born to Clem and Ellie Hawke, he spent his early childhood in Bordertown. His family moved to West Leederville, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, in 1939 after his brother, Neil, died.

Following his graduation from Perth Modern School, Hawke attended the University of Western Australia. He graduated with dual degrees in law and the arts (economics) in 1953. He then studied at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship. Originally planning to complete a degree in philosophy, politics and economics, he instead completed a postgraduate study of the Australian arbitration system and graduated with a bachelor of letters degree in 1955. He next pursued a doctorate in law at the Australian National University but left after two years without obtaining his degree.

Hawke became interested in politics at an early age. His uncle, Albert Hawke, was a member of the Parliament of Western Australia when young Hawke moved there. He became the Australian Labor Party (ALP) premier of Western Australia in 1953, serving until 1959. Hawke credited his uncle with being his role model. In 1947, the younger Hawke joined the ALP and served as its president from 1973 to 1978.

Encouraged to do practical research, Hawke conducted research for basic wage cases being heard by the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. In 1958, he was hired as the first paid research officer and advocate for the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). He prepared and presented the union's case for the 1959 basic wage case and negotiated significant wage increases in that case and a later metal trades case. During his years as an ACTU officer, he earned a reputation for his pragmatism and negotiation skills. After his first unsuccessful venture into national politics with a failed run for Parliament in 1963, he was elected the president of the ACTU, serving from 1970 to 1980. As president, he helped bring together unionists and representatives from business and government and achieved a wage-fixing agreement.

Political Career

Hawke was successful in his second attempt to break into national politics, entering the federal House of Representatives for the seat of Wills, Victoria, in 1980; he was re-elected in the next four elections. Immediately after entering Parliament, he became the shadow minister for industrial relations, employment and youth affairs. In July 1982, he challenged Bill Hayden for the leadership of the ALP. Despite being unsuccessful, he had gained widespread recognition for his leadership abilities, and in February 1983, Hayden was persuaded to resign. Hawke was elected leader of the ALP on 8 February 1983, and a federal election was called for the next month.

Hawke led his party to a landslide victory in the March 1983 election, and less than one month after he took over the helm of the party, he became the prime minister. One of Hawke's first acts as prime minister was to hold an economic summit that resulted in a wage accords with unions and helped to set the stage for modernising the economy. His government initiated a series of reforms to deregulate the economy, including floating the Australian dollar on the international market and allowing foreign banks to operate in Australia. His administration also initiated Medicare, a publicly funded universal healthcare system, and educational reforms, including changes in technical and vocational education, the creation of universities and the establishment of national curriculum and training standards.

Other achievements included gaining international support to ban mining in Antarctica, which led to the signing of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991); passing legislation that banned hydro-electric dams in World Heritage Sites (1983), halting the construction of a dam on the Franklin River in Tasmania (1983); and passing the Sex Discrimination Act (1984). Global initiatives included developing stronger relations with the United States, Russia and Asia-Pacific countries, and pressuring South Africa to end apartheid.

Re-elected in the 1987 and 1990 elections, Hawke became the longest-serving Labor prime minister in Australia's history. He lost the position in December 1991 in a successful challenge by his former treasurer, Paul Keating. In February 1992, he resigned from Parliament.

After leaving office, Hawke worked as a businessperson, journalist and consultant. He published The Hawke Memoirs in 1994.

Hawke experienced a stroke in early 2019. He died on May 16, 2019, at his home in the Sydney suburb of Northbridge in New South Wales, Australia. He was eighty-nine years old.

Impact

Decades after leaving the office of prime minister, Bob Hawke remained vocal about issues facing the nation. His government initiated significant reforms on the economy, international relations, trade and other issues that continue to evolve, and Hawke is determined to continue to have a voice in shaping Australian policy. He participated in ALP campaigns and appeared in ads for ALP candidates. Despite tno longer being an official of the ACTU or an MP, his advocacy of issues such as the proposed China free-trade agreement, anti-privatisation of Medicare, and the movement to become an independent republic from Great Britain carried significant weight among both supporters and opponents. Considered an elder statesman—and legend, to many—Hawke maintained influence, with supporters at times calling for politicians to "do a Bob Hawke" and bring about changes like those which Hawke initiated to transform Australia's society and economy.

Personal Life

Hawke and Hazel Masterson married in 1956 and divorced in 1995. They had four children: Susan, Stephen, Roslyn and Robert. Their youngest child, Robert, died in infancy. In 1995, Hawke married his biographer, Blanche d'Alpuget, who survived him.

Bibliography

Chan, Gabrielle. "Bob Hawke Looks Back: Former PM on His Feud with Keating, Leadership and Reform." The Guardian, 31 Dec. 2015, www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jan/01/bob-hawke-looks-back-former-pm-on-his-feud-with-keating-leadership-and-reform. Accessed 11 Nov. 2016.

D'Alpuget, Blanche. Hawke: The Prime Minister. Melbourne UP, 2010.

Gordon, Michael. "Bob Hawke on His Loves, Legacies and Life after Politics." The Age, 1 Mar. 2003, www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/28/1046407750547.html. Accessed 11 Nov. 2016.

Harris, Rob. "Cabinet Papers from 1990–1991 Released: Former PM Bob Hawke Takes Swipe at Paul Keating." Herald Sun, 31 Dec. 2015, www.heraldsun.com.au/news/cabinet-papers-from-199091-released-former-pm-bob-hawke-takes-swipe-at-paul-keating/news-story/220fd9340d7fa45149ea09cbaab81d9c. Accessed 11 Nov. 2016.

McFadden, Robert D. “Bob Hawke, Who Led Australia Into a New Era as Prime Minister, Dies at 89.” The New York Times, 16 May 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/05/16/obituaries/bob-hawke-dead.html. Accessed 9 July 2020.‌

"Prime Ministers of Australia: Bob Hawke." National Museum of Australia, www.nma.gov.au/primeministers/bob‗hawke. Accessed 9 July 2020.

"Robert Hawke." Australia's Prime Ministers, National Archives of Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, 2016, primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/hawke/index.aspx. Accessed 11 Nov. 2016.