Bob Hawke

Robert James Lee Hawke (born December 9 1929), Australian trade union leader and politician, was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia. After a decade as leader of the Australian union movement, he entered politics and was Prime Minister within three years. He became by far the longest-serving Labor Prime Minister, and was second-longest-serving Prime Minister overall until December 2004, when John Howard overtook him. But critics continued to dismiss him as a populist, whose focus on "consensus" resulted in the abandonment of many traditional Labor values.

Early life

Hawke was born in Bordertown, a small town in South Australia near the Victorian border. His father was a Congregationalist minister. His uncle, Albert Hawke, was Labor Premier of Western Australia from 1953 to 1959 and was a close friend of Labor Prime Minister John Curtin, who was in many ways Bob Hawke's role model. Hawke's mother, Ellie, had an almost messianic belief in her son's destiny and this contributed to his supreme self-confidence throughout his career.

Related Topics:
Bordertown - South Australia - Congregationalist - Albert Hawke - Premier of Western Australia - 1953 - 1959 - John Curtin - Role model

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hawke was raised in Perth and attended the high school Perth Modern School and completed undergraduate degrees in Law and Arts (economics) at the University of Western Australia. He joined the Labor Party in 1947. Selected as a Rhodes Scholar in 1953, he went to Oxford University and completed a Bachelor of Letters at University College with a thesis on wage-fixing in Australia. His academic achievements were probably outweighed by the notoriety he achieved as the holder of a world record for the fastest consumption of beer, two and a half pints in twelve seconds.

Related Topics:
Perth - Perth Modern School - University of Western Australia - 1947 - Rhodes Scholar - 1953 - Oxford University - University College

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On his return to Australia in 1956, Hawke married Hazel Masterton, with whom he had three children. They moved to Canberra while Hawke started studying for a doctorate at the Australian National University. But Hawke abandoned the degree in 1958 when he was offered a post as research officer at the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) headquarters in Melbourne. His ambition, self-belief and larrikin nature were already obvious. John Button, Industry Minister in the Hawke Labor government, recalled Hawke holding court in the bar of a dingy pub that served as a Labor and union hangout, and offering him the post of Attorney-General in a future Hawke government.

Related Topics:
1956 - Hazel Masterton - Canberra - Australian National University - 1958 - Australian Council of Trade Unions - Melbourne - Larrikin - John Button

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~