Paul Keating

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Biography

Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia.

Early Life

Keating was born on 18 January 1944 at St Margaret's Hospital in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, as the eldest of four children to Matthew Keating and Minnie Chapman.^[1] His father worked as a boilermaker for the New South Wales Government Railways.^[2]

All of Keating's grandparents were born in Australia. On his father's side, he was descended from Irish immigrants born in counties Galway, Roscommon, and Tipperary. On his mother's side, he was of mixed English and Irish descent. His maternal great-grandparents John Chapman and Sarah Gallagher were both convicts, with both transported to the Colony of New South Wales in the 1830s for theft.

Keating grew up in Bankstown, an industrial outer western suburb of Sydney. He attended a Catholic school, De La Salle College, and left school before completing his secondary education. Sources vary about his age at leaving, either 14 or 15. He later studied at Belmore and Sydney Technical Colleges.^[3][4]

Before entering parliament Keating worked in clerical jobs and then joined the Federated Municipal and Shire Council Employees’ Union as an industrial officer. He also managed a rock band, the Ramrods.^[3][4]

Political Career

Keating joined the Labor Party at the age of 14 and served a term as State President of Young Labor.^[2][4]

He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1969 when he won the seat of Blaxland.^[4][5]

He served briefly as Minister for Northern Australia in the final weeks of the Whitlam Government in 1975.^[4]

After Labor lost power, he held senior portfolios in the Shadow Cabinets of Gough Whitlam and Bill Hayden.^[4]

Following Labor's landslide victory at the 1983 election, Keating was appointed Treasurer. He and Bob Hawke developed a powerful political partnership, overseeing significant economic reforms. During this time the Australian economy was deregulated by floating the Australian dollar.^[4][5]

Keating challenged Bob Hawke for leadership of the Labor Party in June 1991 and lost, but his challenge six months later was successful. He became Prime Minister in the aftermath of a recession he famously described as "the recession we had to have". His Government increased its majority at the 1993 election and some of its greater known achievements included enacting the Native Title Act to enshrine Aboriginal land rights, the introduction of compulsory superannuation and enterprise bargaining, and the creation of a national infrastructure development program.^[4][5][6]

At the 1996 election Labor suffered a landslide defeat to the Liberal-National Coalition led by John Howard, with Keating retiring from parliament shortly after the election.^[5]

Post-Politics Career

Since leaving parliament Keating has been a political commentator and maintained a broad range of business interests, including serving on the international board of the China Development Bank.^[7]

Honours and Appointments

In 1997, Keating declined to accept the Companion of the Order of Australia, and is the only former prime minister not to hold the award since Australian honours were instituted in 1975. Keating's reason was his belief that honours should be reserved for unrecognised achievers.^[7][8]

Keating was appointed a Visiting Professor of Public Policy at the University of New South Wales and was awarded honorary doctorates in law from Keio University in Tokyo (1995), the National University of Singapore (1999), the University of New South Wales (2003) and Macquarie University (2012). He is a patron of the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library at Curtin University in Western Australia.^[7]

Marriage and Family

Keating married Anna Johanna Maria (Annita) van Iersel on 17 January 1975 at Oisterwijk in the Netherlands. They had four children together before separating in 1998. Annita was considered to be the perfect partner to a prime minister, with her command of several languages, her ability to be supportive without interfering, being involved but not too much, and her down-to-earth personality. She was a valuable asset during Australia's bid for the 2000 Olympic Games.^[9][10] The couple formally divorced in 2008.^[2]

Since 1998 Keating's partner has been the actress Julieanne Newbould.^[2]

Popular Culture

In 2005, Keating!, a musical based on Keating's life and career, premiered at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It went on to run until 2010, winning a number of awards. The show highlighted Keating's reputation for being sharp-tongued, his love of wearing Zegna suits and collecting antique clocks and portrayed him as a man who struggles to make it to the top, to then find that he has to compete against three "bad guys" - successive Liberal Party leaders John Hewson, Alexander Downer and John Howard.^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald, New South Wales, 22 January 1944, page 18, column 1, Family Notices. (Trove, National Library of Australia, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/?type=newspapers : accessed 13 September 2021)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Wikipedia contributors, "Paul Keating," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Keating&oldid=1042713875 (accessed September 13, 2021).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Paul Keating. (National Museum of Australia, https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/features/prime-ministers/paul-keating : accessed 14 Sep 2021)
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7} Paul Keating. Before Office. (National Archives of Australia, https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/australias-prime-ministers/paul-keating/before-office : accessed 14 Sep 2021)
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Paul Keating. Timeline. (National Archives of Australia,https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/australias-prime-ministers/paul-keating/timeline : accessed 14 Sep 2021)
6. ↑ Paul Keating. (National Archives of Australia, https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/australias-prime-ministers/paul-keating/during-office : accessed 14 Sep 2021)
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Paul Keating. After Office. (National Archives of Australia, https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/australias-prime-ministers/paul-keating/after-office : accessed 14 Sep 2021)
8. ↑ Mickelburough, Peter. Leading Australians snub Order of Australia honours. Published online 25 Jan 2013. (Herald Sun, https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/leading-australians-snub-order-of-australia-honours/news-story/a9e01b52eb546fca0e6278b1efcce861 : accessed 14 Sep 2021)
9. ↑ Paul Keating. Fast Facts. (https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/australias-prime-ministers/paul-keating/fast-facts : accessed 14 Sep 2021)
10. ↑ Paul Keating. Partner. (National Archives of Australia, https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/australias-prime-ministers/paul-keating/partner : accessed 14 Sep 2021)
11. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Keating!," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keating!&oldid=1039808709 (accessed September 14, 2021).

See Also:

• Wikidata: Item Q242654