The Hon Kim Beazley
Opposition Leader of Australia
In office 1996 - 2001 2005 – 2006
Preceded by	John Howard Mark Latham
Succeeded by	Simon Crean Kevin Rudd
Constituency	Swan (until 1996), Brand (until 2007)
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
In office 1995 – 1996
Prime Minister	Paul Keating
Preceded by	Brian Howe
Succeeded by	Tim Fischer
Born	December 14, 1948 (1948-12-14) (age 59) Perth, Western Australia
Political party	Australian Labor Party

For Kim Beazley's father, Kim Beazley senior, see Kim Edward Beazley. The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable (abbreviated to " The Hon Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. See also Howard Government John Winston Howard AC (born 26 July 1939 was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) a former Australian politician was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party Simon Findlay Crean (born 26 February 1949) is an Australian Politician, and current Minister for Trade in the Australian Federal Government Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor The Division of Swan is an Australian Electoral Division located in Western Australia. The Division of Brand is an Australian electoral division in the state of Western Australia. The Deputy Prime Minister of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944 was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, from 1991 to 1996 Brian Leslie Howe, AO (born 23 January 1936) Australian politician was Deputy Prime Minister in the Labor government of Timothy Andrew Fischer AC FTSE (born 3 May 1946) is a former Australian politician Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Kim Edward Beazley, AO ( 30 September 1917 – 12 October 2007) known as simply Kim Beazley during his career Australian

Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948), son of Kim Edward Beazley, is an Australian politician and academic, who was Leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1996 to 2001 and from 2005 to 2006. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Kim Edward Beazley, AO ( 30 September 1917 – 12 October 2007) known as simply Kim Beazley during his career Australian For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. As of 2007 he is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Western Australia. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The University of Western Australia (UWA is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia. ^[1]

Beazley was a minister under Bob Hawke from 1983 to 1991 and under Paul Keating from 1991 to 1996. Robert James Lee (Bob Hawke, AC (born 9 December 1929 was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia and longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944 was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, from 1991 to 1996 He was Deputy Prime Minister in 1995-1996. A Deputy Prime Minister or Vice Prime Minister is in some countries a government minister who can take the position of acting Prime Minister when the Elected Labor Leader in March 1996, he resigned in November 2001 after having lost both the 1998 federal election (despite gaining 51 percent of the vote, the party fell 7 seats short) and the 2001 election. Results House of Representatives preference flows The Nationals had candidates in 13 seats where Three-cornered-contests existed Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 November, 2001. He was returned unopposed to the Labor Party leadership in January 2005 following the resignation of Mark Latham, who polled worse figures at the 2004 election. Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) a former Australian politician was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 October, 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member He is the only ex-leader in the party's history to return to the position. He was replaced as party leader by Kevin Rudd in December 2006, a year prior to the 2007 election which Rudd and Labor won with a significant swing. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13

Early life

Beazley was born in Perth, Western Australia. Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. His father, also called Kim Beazley and now generally known as Kim Beazley senior, was Labor MP for Fremantle from 1945 to 1977. Kim Edward Beazley, AO ( 30 September 1917 – 12 October 2007) known as simply Kim Beazley during his career Australian The Division of Fremantle is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. His mother Betty Judge was a former Australian athletics champion and record-holder. Betty Judge-Beazley is a former Australian athletics champion at 880 yards, who set two national records over the distance

The younger Kim was educated at Hollywood Senior High School and then later at the University of Western Australia and Balliol College, Oxford (Rhodes Scholar 1973), where he gained a Master of Philosophy degree. The University of Western Australia (UWA is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia. Balliol College (ˈbeɪlɪəl founded in 1263 is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Rhodes Scholarship Rhodes scholar redirects here Rhodes Scholar redirects here Rhodes scholars Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. While at Oxford, he became close friends with Tony Blair and Geoff Gallop (a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and former Premier of Western Australia respectively). Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to Professor Geoffrey Ian Gallop AC (born 27 September 1951 is an Australian Academic and former Politician. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. After returning to Australia, he tutored and lectured in politics at Perth's Murdoch University before being elected MP for the seat of Swan at the 1980 election. Murdoch University is a public University based in Perth, Australia. The Division of Swan is an Australian Electoral Division located in Western Australia. Issues The mood in the electorate was moving against the Fraser Government by 1980

Career in government

Beazley (middle) in 1986

Further information: Government of Australia

Beazley became a protege of Bob Hawke, Labor leader from 1983, and in that year he was appointed Minister for Aviation in Hawke's first ministry. This article describes the federal government of Australia See Australian governments for other jurisdictions The Australian Minister for Infrastructure Transport Regional Development and Local Government is the Hon Anthony Albanese, since 3 December 2007 He was Minister for Defence, with a seat in Cabinet, 1984-90. The current Minister for Defence of Australia is Joel Fitzgibbon. In this role he was responsible for establishing the Australian Navy's submarine program, which was beset with some technical problems and cost over-runs (see Collins class submarine). Design and construction Much of the technology and computer design expertise came from Kockums of Sweden. Beazley has had a lifelong interest in military matters; his consequent enthusiasm for this portfolio, and particularly for military hardware, earned him the nickname "Bomber Beazley".

Beazley was then Minister for Transport and Communications (1990-91), Finance (1991), Employment, Education and Training (1991-93), and Finance again (1993-96). The Australian Minister for Infrastructure Transport Regional Development and Local Government is the Hon Anthony Albanese, since 3 December 2007 In the Australian political system the Minister for Finance and Deregulation supplements the role of the Treasurer, being responsible for areas such as budget policy The Australian Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations is currently the Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He supported Hawke in his leadership battles with Paul Keating in 1991, but retained his position when Keating deposed Hawke and became Prime Minister in December 1991. Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944 was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, from 1991 to 1996 Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Beazley was Deputy Prime Minister 1995-96. At the 1996 elections Beazley shifted to the safer seat of Brand, south of Perth. House of Reps preference flows The Democrats contested 138 electorates with preferences slightly favouring Labor (54 The Division of Brand is an Australian electoral division in the state of Western Australia.

First term as ALP leader

In 1996, on the defeat of the Keating government by John Howard, Beazley was elected unopposed as Labor leader and became Opposition Leader. See also Howard Government John Winston Howard AC (born 26 July 1939 was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March He campaigned against Howard's Goods and Services Tax (GST) but lost the October 1998 elections by a narrow margin. Results House of Representatives preference flows The Nationals had candidates in 13 seats where Three-cornered-contests existed Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934, but failed to win enough seats in the House of Representatives. This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. The House of Representatives is one of the two houses (chambers of the Parliament of Australia; it is the Lower house, the Upper house being the Senate

In mid-2001 Labor was well ahead in the opinion polls and seemed set to win the election due at the end of the year, but in August a political crisis erupted when the Howard government refused to allow the MV Tampa, a Norwegian freighter, to set down on Australian soil at Christmas Island several hundred asylum seekers whom the crew had rescued from an unseaworthy boat in international waters. The MV Tampa is a Norwegian Cargo ship. In August 2001 under Captain Arne Rinnan, a diplomatic dispute brewed between Australia Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional The Territory of Christmas Island is a small territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean, 2600 kilometres (1600 mi northwest of According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race When the November 2001 election was announced, Howard had taken a commanding lead in the polls and seemed set for a huge victory. Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 November, 2001. But Beazley's dogged campaigning regained some of this ground and Labor suffered a net loss of only four seats.

Opposition backbencher

Beazley resigned the Labor leadership after the election and was succeeded by Simon Crean. Simon Findlay Crean (born 26 February 1949) is an Australian Politician, and current Minister for Trade in the Australian Federal Government But by 2003 Crean had failed to make any headway against Howard and Labor MPs began to fear that Howard would easily win the election due in 2004. Crean's opponents persuaded Beazley to attempt a return to the leadership by challenging Crean. The Labor Caucus (parliamentary Labor Party) re-elected Crean in June 2003, not convinced that Beazley offered a better alternative. Some Beazley supporters, most notably Stephen Conroy, continued to plot against Crean, and Beazley refused to rule out a further challenge. Stephen Michael Conroy (born 18 January 1963 is an Australian politician and the current Minister for Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy in the Rudd Labor

On 27 November Crean's closest supporters told him that he had lost their confidence, and the next day he announced his resignation. Events 1095 - Pope Urban II declares the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont Beazley immediately announced that he would be contesting the leadership when the Labor Caucus met on 2 December. Events 1409 - The University of Leipzig opens 1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire His only opponent was the party's economic spokesperson, Mark Latham. Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) a former Australian politician was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party Latham defeated Beazley by 47 votes to 45. After the ballot, Beazley announced that he would remain in politics as a backbench member and would recontest his seat at the 2004 election.

In July 2004, however, Latham arranged for Beazley to return to the Labor front bench as Shadow Defence Minister. July 2004: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September This followed controversy over Latham's policy of withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq by the end of 2004. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Beazley's return to the front bench was generally seen as a move by Latham to reassure Australian public opinion that a Labor government would not put the U.S.-Australian alliance at risk. The Australia New Zealand United States Security Treaty ( ANZUS or ANZUS Treaty) is the Military alliance which binds Australia and

Second term as ALP leader

After Labor's defeat in the October 2004 federal election, at which he became the longest-serving Labor member of the Parliament, Beazley again returned to the backbench, saying "my time as leader of the Labor Party has come and gone, it's over for me as far as leadership is concerned". Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 October, 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member But after Latham resigned as leader on 18 January 2005, Beazley announced his intention to contest the leadership, saying that he was "absolutely fired with ambition. Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "

Kim Beazley outside Parliament House, Canberra in July 2004

Referring to widespread doubt that Labor could win the 2007 election under a leader who had already lost two elections, Beazley said: "There's no doubt in my mind that I can lead a winning team in the next election. Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia. Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13 The road to the prime ministership of this nation is a long and hard road. It's not an easy one. And there are many twists and turns on that road. I'm in my 25th year as a member of the Federal Parliament and I know this: public opinion is volatile and it can change. "

Beazley was re-elected as federal Labor Leader when the Labor Caucus met on 28 January, following the withdrawal of the other potential candidates, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961 is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and deputy leader of the federal Australian Labor Party (ALP ^[2] Labor hoped that Beazley could follow a similar course to John Howard, who failed in his first term as Opposition Leader but returned in 1995 for a second term and then won the 1996 election. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 House of Reps preference flows The Democrats contested 138 electorates with preferences slightly favouring Labor (54

In September 2005, the publication of Mark Latham's The Latham Diaries contained comments by Latham to the effect that Beazley was a "dirty dog" and was not fit to "clean toilets in Parliament". The Latham Diaries (ISBN 0-522-85215-7 is a political memoir by the former Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party (ALP leader Mark Latham Latham's abuse resulted mainly from two allegations: firstly that Beazley had engaged in a prolonged campaign to undermine Latham in his positions as a frontbencher and as opposition leader and; secondly that Beazley (as leader) had failed to provide support to Labor MP Greg Wilton, who later committed suicide. In many Parliaments and other similar assemblies seating is typically arranged in banks or rows with each Political party or Caucus grouped together Gregory Stuart Wilton (6 November 1955 &ndash 14 June 2000 was an Australian politician All of these allegations were vehemently denied by Beazley, his supporters and others.

Kim Beazley in November 2005 declaring Labor will "oppose the Howard Government's industrial relations legislation in every respect, at every stage until the next election". The Workplace Relations Act 1996 as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, or WorkChoices, which came into effect in March 2006, was the most Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13

In the first half of 2006, Beazley focussed much of the Labor Party's parliamentary inquiry into the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) scandal, which allegedly involved bribes and kickbacks with the then Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, that universally breached UN Sanctions, to which Australia was a signatory. AWB Limited ( is the Australian former monopoly company that oversees the exports of Grain, particularly Wheat. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti ( Arabic: ar صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي --> April 28 1937 &ndash December 30 The situation reached climax in the aftermath of Treasurer Peter Costello's 2006 Budget, whereby for the first time in recent Australian political history, the opposition leader and his colleagues ceased inquiry on the budget papers after just six questions, before resuming further questioning on the AWB scandal. Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957 is an Australian politician The media criticised the ALP,^[3] although many ministers acknowledged the need for the Government to be held accountable for the AWB scandal.

These tactical deficiencies plagued Beazley's return to the leadership and were amplified by factional infighting in the broader Labor Party, raising many questions concerning both his ability to lead and the stability of the party. At the time, opinion polls by ACNielsen and Newspoll on preferred leader had him at record lows. This was confirmed in a forum on the SBS Insight television program on 2 May 2006,^[4] which specifically dealt with the Labor Party's political struggles, where some community members voiced their concerns about being disillusioned with Kim Beazley, and a lack of understanding of the values and policies for which he and the party stood. Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. While Beazley admitted that winning an election was difficult, he was adamant that the 2007 election would be a "referendum on the Howard Government's unfair industrial relations laws. "

After the mid-term parliamentary break, Beazley's fortunes slightly improved, with voter concern over interest rate rises, petrol prices and industrial relations giving Labor some electoral comfort. This was later evident in polls which suggested the ALP's primary vote was at around 40 per cent - the minimum considered necessary to gain government. However, polls concerning preferred leader still positioned Kim Beazley well below John Howard. Conservative political commentator, Piers Akerman, suggested in the Sunday Telegraph on 11 October 2006, that Beazley's poor performance in leadership polls was to do with alleged inconsistencies in policy and judgement, particularly with regard to the Iraq war. Piers Akerman (born June 1950 is a conservative columnist for the Australian News Limited Newspaper The Sunday Telegraph is a British Broadsheet newspaper, founded in 1961 Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

2006 leadership challenge

With continued weak performances in preferred Prime Minister opinion polls, 2006 was punctuated by a number of embarrassing gaffes from the opposition leader. At a press conference on 17 November 2006, Beazley confused the grieving TV host Rove McManus with President Bush's Chief of Staff, Karl Rove, offering his sympathy to the wrong Rove. Rove McManus (born John McManus II George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) was Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W ^[5]

Beazley's leadership of the Labor Party came under increasing pressure. Opposition to Beazley again centred around foreign affairs spokesperson Kevin Rudd and health spokesperson Julia Gillard. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961 is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and deputy leader of the federal Australian Labor Party (ALP According to media reports, the New South Wales Right faction promised its support to Rudd for leadership so long as he challenged Beazley before Christmas. ^[6][7] On 30 November, Rudd met with Beazley and announced his intention to challenge for the leadership. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats On 1 December, Beazley announced not only a leadership election but also that all frontbench positions within the Parliamentary Labor Party would be made vacant. Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican ^[8][9] Both sides claimed that they were in a winning position.

A ballot was held on Monday 4 December, and Kevin Rudd was declared the winner and leader of the ALP, by a margin of 49 votes to 39. "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. ^[10] After the leadership results were announced, Jenny Macklin withdrew from the contest for deputy leader, which allowed Gillard to be elected unopposed to that position. Jennifer Louise Macklin (born 29 December 1953 is an Australian politician

Following the ballot, Beazley said of his political future, "For me to do anything further in the Australian Labor Party I would say is Lazarus with a quadruple bypass. Lazarus ( Hebrew: אלעזר Elʿāzār Eleazar "God (has helped" is the name of two separate men mentioned in the New Testament. So the time has come for me to move on but when that gets properly formalised I will let you know. "^[11] It was also revealed that his brother David had died of a severe heart attack at age 53, shortly before the vote took place. ^[12]

Post-political career

Beazley later announced that he would not stand for re-election at the 2007 federal election,^[13] which the Labor Party won. Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13 After his retirement from parliament, it has been speculated that he is a leading candidate to become the next Australian Ambassador to the United States when Dennis Richardson retires in mid-2008^[14] or the next Governor-General of Australia when Michael Jeffery's term expires, also in 2008. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the monarch of Australia (currently Elizabeth II Queen of Australia) Major General Philip Michael Jeffery AC, CVO, MC (born 12 December[[ 937]] was the 24th Governor-General of Australia ^[15] The latter suggestion, however, was swiftly ruled out by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, saying that the he would not appoint a current or former politician as Governor-General, but instead would prefer to choose someone from the wider community. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor ^[16] This has since been confirmed by the appointment of Australia's first female Governor General, Quentin Bryce, who will assume the position on September 8, 2008. Quentin Alice Louise Bryce AC (born 23 December 1942 is the current Governor-General of Australia and a former Governor of Queensland. Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common

He is currently a professorial fellow at the University of Western Australia, focusing on politics, public policy and international relations. ^[1]

See also

• Politics of Australia
• Australian Labor Party

References

External links

• ALP biography