Denis Burke

Denis Gabriel Burke (born September 22, 1948) is an Australian politician. A former soldier, he served as a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1994 to 2005. He spent two years as Chief Minister after succeeding Shane Stone, but oversaw the CLP's defeat at the 2001 election, ending 27 years of continuous CLP government in the Northern Territory. Burke later served as Opposition Leader from 2001 to 2003 before being toppled, but was re-elected as leader in 2005. He subsequently took the party to their largest ever defeat at the 2005 election, culminating in the shock loss of his own seat.

Early life

Burke was born in Queensland, and entered the army as a national serviceman in 1969. In a 25-year career, he rose to become Colonel of the Darwin-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment. His army tour of duty led to a stint with the United Nations peacekeeping and observer forces in the Middle East in 1984-85 (in Beirut, Lebanon and the Sinai peninsula in Egypt).

Related Topics:
Queensland - National service - 1969 - Darwin - United Nations - Peacekeeping - Middle East - Beirut - Lebanon - Sinai - Egypt

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