Andrew Peacock

Andrew Peacock (1999)

Andrew Sharp Peacock AC (born February 13, 1939 in Melbourne , Victoria , † April 16, 2021 in Austin , Texas ) was an Australian politician . Among other things, he was the country's foreign minister and chairman of the Liberal Party of Australia .

Early life

Peacock was born in Melbourne , Victoria , to a wealthy corporate director. He attended Scotch College and Melbourne University in his hometown, where he received his law degree. He was practicing as a lawyer in Melbourne while making a rapid rise in the Liberal Party. In 1962 he became president of the Young Liberals , and in 1963 he married Susan Renouf, daughter of Sir John Frederick Rossiter, who presided over the Liberals Committee in Victoria, and his wife, Joan Stewart. They had three daughters together. In 1965 he became president of the Victorian Liberal Party.

Entry into politics

In 1966, the Liberal Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies resigned, whereupon Peacock inherited him in the Kooyong constituency, which is located in the affluent eastern suburbs of Melbourne. In 1969 he became Minister for the Army and was involved in the overthrow of Liberal Prime Minister John Gorton in 1971. In 1972 he was selected by William McMahon as Minister for Territories appointed and had the responsibility for the managed from Australia , Papua New Guinea , where he was responsible for the preparation of an independent government in preparation for independence.

When the Liberals went into opposition in December 1972, he managed to establish himself in the party leadership. As a moderate liberal, he was a supporter of the new party leader Billy Snedden . After Snedden's defeat in 1974, he was considered the successor candidate, but Malcolm Fraser took the initiative and succeeded Snedden as party leader in 1975. Fraser appointed Peacock foreign policy spokesman for the Liberal Party of Australia, and when Fraser led his party to election success in December 1975, he became Secretary of State at the age of 36 .

Peacock held this post for five years until 1980, with an image as an international playboy attached to him due to his relationship with American actress Shirley MacLaine (at the time his marriage was already divorced). He had a number of violent arguments with Fraser over recognition of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia . So it happened that Peacock asked for another office in 1980 and was appointed Minister for Industrial Relations (see: Industrial relations ). In April 1981, he unexpectedly resigned from his post after accusing Fraser of constantly meddling in his duties. Shortly thereafter, Fraser called a meeting of the Liberal parliamentary group, where Peacock's efforts to take over the party chairmanship did not find a majority.

In November 1982 he returned to political affairs as Minister for Industry and Commerce . When the Liberals lost the election to the Australian Labor Party led by Bob Hawke , his career as minister came to an end.

Party presidency

Fraser's government ended with the loss of the federal elections in March 1983 against the Australian Labor Party led by Bob Hawke , which is why Peacock subsequently became party chairman. In the 1984 federal elections, he was able to reduce Hawkes' majority, but it was not enough for an electoral success. Then Peacock tried to replace the party's vice-leader, John Howard , with another candidate, which failed due to a lack of support within the party, which is why he subsequently resigned. He was replaced by the previous vice-party leader Howard. This charged him with foreign policy.

After Howard lost the federal election in 1987, Peacock was named vice party leader. Since his supporters organized a plot, Peacock managed to return to the party leadership in 1989. - He married a second time - his new wife became Margaret St George.

Although rival Hawkes had great financial worries with his administration and there was a record new interest in federal politics, Peacock failed to win the elections for his party, which is why he resigned. He became Attorney General (1990–92) and Minister of Commerce (1992–93) of the opposition under the new party leader John Hewson . When Hewson lost the 1993 federal election to Keating, Peacock took over foreign policy duties again. He left office after Hewson was replaced by Alexander Downer at the top of the party.

According to politics

In September 1994, Peacock decided that his time as a politician was over and resigned from the Australian Parliament. When John Howard became Prime Minister in 1996 , he appointed Peacock to succeed John McCarthy as Australian Ambassador to the United States . After being married to Margaret Ingram between 1983 and 1995, he made the American diplomat Penne Percy Korth (* 1942) his third wife in 2002. He also became the manager of Boeing Australia. He held this post until 2007. He then headed the Gold Coast-based financial group MFS Limited, which after 15 months ran out of debt with 2.5 billion dollars. Most recently he lived with his wife in Austin , Texas , where he also died on April 16, 2021.

Honors

Peacock became Companion of the Order of Australia in 1997. He was named Chief Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu in 2006 for his role in Papua New Guinea independence . In 2017 he received the Great Order of the Rising Sun on Ribbon from the Japanese government for his contribution to strengthening and promoting friendly relations between Japan and Australia .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Former Liberal Party leader Andrew Peacock dies, aged 82 , accessed April 18, 2021
2. ↑ 'A great Australian and treasure': Andrew Peacock dies in the United States aged 82 , smh.com.au, April 16, 2021
3. ↑ Rossiter, Sir John Frederick, Victorian Parliament page (English)
4. ↑ "Jane has pedigree to make grade", The Daily Telegraph , July 7, 2005 (English)
5. ^ "Peacock made 'bird of paradise' chief", news. Ninemsn , September 19, 2006 (English)
6. ^ Peacock leaves for Washington , Australian Broadcasting Corporation , September 19, 1999
7. ↑ Andrew Sharp PEACOCK. (PDF) Museum of Australian Democracy, accessed November 28, 2015 . 
8. ↑ 2017 Autumn Conference of Decorations on Foreign Nationals , Japanese Embassy in Australia, November 3, 2017