Don Willesee

Donald Robert "Don" Willesee (born April 14, 1916 in Derby , Western Australia , † September 9, 2003 in Joondalup City , Western Australia) was an Australian politician and foreign minister of the country.

Early life

Willesee was born in Derby, Western Australia and taught at state and religious schools in Carnarvon . After his brother and his father had lost their jobs, he left at the age of 14 years during the Great Depression the school to work as a postal worker in Carnarvon and joined immediately Australian Union of Postal Clerks and Telegraphists at the secretary he became. He later worked as a telegraph operator in Perth . In 1940 he married Gwendoline Clarke.

Political career

At the age of 21, Willesee joined the Australian Labor Party ; In 1950, at the age of 33, he was elected Senator for Western Australia. At the time, he was the youngest Senator ever elected in Australia. Prior to the 1972 federal elections, he worked with Prime Minister Whitlam to reform the Labor Party. According to Kim Beazley , he was "... a key assistant to Gough Whitlam in the reorganization of the Labor Party and made a brilliant impression on the government."

After the 1972 general election, he became Special Minister of State , Vice-President of the Executive Council , assisted the Prime Minister as minister, and assisted the Foreign Minister during Whitlam's second term. As Special Minister of State, he advocated archiving the libraries on computers to network national, state and university libraries, which turned out to be a great success. On November 30, 1973, Willesee was appointed Foreign Minister by Whitlam. At that time he was commissioned by Whitlam to expand relations with Asia . He was against the invasion of Indonesia in East Timor , not wanting to make the decision for the people of East Timor, whether they should belong to Indonesia or not. With his opinion he faced Whitlam, who was in favor of incorporating East Timor into Indonesia. He was no longer available for the federal elections in 1975.

death

Willesee died in Joondalup Hospital, Joondalup , Western Australia , two weeks after suffering a heart attack. He left behind his wife, Gwen, and their six children, Colleen, Mike, Terry, Geraldine, Don Jr., and Peter.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} John Howard : Condolences: Willesee, Hon. Donald Robert . In: Hansard . Australian Parliament . September 10, 2003. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 22, 2007. 
2. ↑ Simon Crean : Condolences: Willesee, Hon. Donald Robert . In: Hansard . Australian Parliament . September 10, 2003. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 22, 2007. 
3. ↑ Kim Beazley : Condolences: Willesee, Hon. Donald Robert . In: Hansard . Australian Parliament . September 10, 2003. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 22, 2007. 
4. ↑ John Anderson : Condolences: Willesee, Hon. Donald Robert . In: Hansard . Australian Parliament . September 10, 2003. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 22, 2007. 
5. ↑ Tony Stephens: Labor star Willesee dies at 87 , The Sydney Morning Herald . September 10, 2003. Retrieved September 22, 2007.