Gough Whitlam

Edward Gough Whitlam (1962)

Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC (pronunciation: [ˈedwəd ɡɒf ˈwɪtləm] ; born July 11, 1916 in Melbourne , Victoria ; † October 21, 2014 in Sydney , New South Wales ) was the 21st  Prime Minister of Australia . His term of office lasted from December 5, 1972 to November 11, 1975. From February 8, 1967 to December 5, 1972 and from November 11, 1975 to December 22, 1977, he was the opposition leader. So far, he has been the only Australian Prime Minister to be removed from office by the Governor General .

Gough Whitlam remains one of the most controversial political figures in Australian history to this day. In retrospect, too, his policies still spark heated debates between their supporters and opponents.

Life

Until December 1972

Gough Whitlam was born in Kew, an affluent part of Melbourne, the son of Frederick and Martha Whitlam, b. Maddocks, born. He grew up in Sydney and from the age of 12 in Canberra .

At the age of 19 he took up art studies in Sydney , which he graduated in 1938. He then began his law degree , which he interrupted from 1941 to 1945 to serve in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II . During this time he was used as a navigator in a squadron stationed in the Northern Territory . During the war he married Margaret Dovey in 1942, with whom he would later have three sons and a daughter. After being actively involved in the Australian Labor Party (ALP) during his service , he officially joined it after his discharge from military service in 1945. He finished his law degree and was admitted to the bar in 1947.

In 1947 he ran for the first time at the local and state level in elections in New South Wales , but did not prevail as a candidate. Only in by-elections did he win the Werriwa electoral district on November 29, 1952, and thus a seat in the state parliament. Soon after, on February 17, 1953, he moved into the Australian House of Representatives for the first time .

In the meantime, he had also become an outstanding personality at the ALP, well-known since school days for his learning, eloquence and his razor-sharp mind. In addition, he was recognized as one of the best political speakers and debaters of the time, who, as one of the few from the opposition, could easily take on the shrewd Prime Minister Robert Menzies in the parliamentary exchange of blows .

On March 7, 1960, he became deputy party leader of the ALP. In 1963 he ran unsuccessfully against Arthur Calwell for party leadership. After he lost the parliamentary elections, now against Harold Holt , again after 1961 and 1963 as an opposition candidate , Gough Whitlam was able to inherit him in 1967 as party chairman.

After he was almost expelled from the party in 1966 due to his rejection of important programmatic points of the ALP, such as the nationalization of industry , the refusal of state funds for church-run schools, or the policy of a “White Australia” , he was now able to take part in far-reaching internal party activities Carry out reforms and drop positions like those just mentioned. With these reforms, which naturally caused controversy within the party, he was ultimately able to bring his party and its program closer to voters from the middle class as well as the previous voters from the working class.

As one of the first Australian politicians, he made full use of television as a communication medium for himself and his election campaigns. First he won two by-elections and in the parliamentary elections of 1969 another 17 seats, so that he missed the election victory over Harold Holt by only four seats. As opposition leader, he campaigned for the abolition of conscription and the withdrawal of the Australian armed forces from the Vietnam War . He also visited the People's Republic of China in 1971 and promised to work for their state recognition by Australia.

Term as Prime Minister until November 1975

Whitlam (left) visiting US President Nixon in July 1973

After Harold Holt's unexplained death in 1967, John Gorton and William McMahon followed as Prime Minister before Gough Whitlam won the December 2, 1972 elections. On December 5, 1972, he was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Australia. This was the ALP's first election victory since 1946 under Prime Minister Ben Chifley .

Gough Whitlam immediately began implementing his reforms. In the period from December 5, 1972 to December 18, 1972, he and Lance Barnard provided the entire government . Both headed 13 of the total of 26 ministries . This time is known as "The Ministry of two". The fact that he was unable to head a full cabinet straight away was due to the time-consuming internal party election process that ALP ministers traditionally have to undergo. It was not until December 19, 1972 that he ruled with a full cabinet.

During his reign he always had a comfortable government majority in the House of Representatives, but not in the Senate , where he always had to rely on an opposition vote from the Liberal Party (LP), the Country Party (CP) or the Democratic Labor Party (DLP). In addition, after 23 years in the opposition, the administration and civil servants did not necessarily prove helpful to the new government of Gough Whitlam. Many state parliaments were also controlled by his political opponents. In the end, this situation was a major factor, though by no means the only one, that led to his impeachment.

Nevertheless, Gough Whitlam was able to push through many changes and reforms in just under three years as Prime Minister:

• Abolition of the death penalty at federal level
• final abolition of the White Australia Policy
• Convening of the National Aboriginal Consultative Committee
• Strengthening the equality of women and appointing women to high administrative and legal positions
• Improvement of unemployment benefits and the introduction of assistance for single parents
• Introduction of language learning programs for non-English speaking Australians
• Increase in state subsidies for educational and art institutions
• Lowering the voting age to 18 years
• Abolition of the British system of religious orders
• Merging of the various defense authorities in one ministry
• Abolition of conscription
• Liberation of the Trust Territory of Papua New Guinea into independence from Australia on September 15, 1975
• Establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China

The Suharto- Whitlam House ( Dieng Plateau , Indonesia). The two politicians discussed East Timor here in 1974.

Whitlam was criticized for his position on East Timor . The Portuguese colony north of Australia was being prepared for independence from 1974, while its large neighbor Indonesia was already aiming for annexation . Prime Minister Gough Whitlam worked closely with Indonesia's President Suharto and followed the situation with concern. It was foreseeable that the left-wing FRETILIN would lead the new country. Australia feared a communist state on its doorstep. During a meeting in September 1974 on the Dieng Plateau , near Wonosobo , Java , Whitlam stated that East Timor would be "a void state and a potential threat to stability in the region." Although he recognized the desire for self-determination, he considered an association with Indonesia to be best in the interests of East Timor. A few months later, Indonesia began to infiltrate the border areas of East Timor. December 1975 saw the open invasion and occupation of the country for 24 years, killing an estimated 183,000 people.

Impeachment

However, further changes and reform projects were repeatedly rejected by the Senate and could not be implemented. This constellation and two major scandals , which directly affected his government, led in October 1975 to the fact that the opposition under its new leader Malcolm Fraser was able to justify its refusal to pass a new budget through the Senate under its control. This blockade made the Whitlam government incapacitated (see Australian Constitutional Crisis of 1975 ). Nevertheless, Gough Whitlam decided against new elections. Other political solutions did not seem possible, so that the situation cemented itself.

On November 11, 1975, the then Governor General, Sir John Kerr , removed Gough Whitlam from office and installed the opposition leader Malcolm Fraser as Prime Minister until new elections were held. In addition, under the circumstances in accordance with the constitution, he had both the House of Representatives and the Senate dissolved for the purpose of new elections. Both the impeachment and the dissolution of both parliamentary chambers are still classified by many as highly questionable under constitutional law . Such a procedure had previously existed at federal level and has not existed since. The motives that prompted the Governor General to take this approach have not yet been fully clarified.

That same day the Senate approved the budget and a day later the minority government under Malcolm Fraser was installed. The following elections on December 13, 1975 resulted in an overwhelming majority for Malcolm Fraser.

It was not until 2020 that the Supreme Court decided to make 211 so-called "Palace letters" accessible to the public. It concerns the correspondence between Governor General Kerr and the official head of state of Australia Queen Elizabeth regarding the impeachment of Whitlam.

From November 1975

Whitlam (center) with his wife Margaret 1919–2012 (right)

Gough Whitlam was now again opposition leader and led the ALP to the parliamentary elections on December 10, 1977. Since he and his party suffered a similar devastating defeat to Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser in these elections as in 1975, he resigned on December 22, 1977 as Party leader back. On July 31, 1978, he finally gave up his mandate for the House of Representatives.

From 1978 he held several visiting professorships. In 1983 he was appointed Australian Ambassador to UNESCO in Paris by Prime Minister Bob Hawke . He held this office for a total of three years. From 1985 he was also a member of various commissions or founded and led various foundations . From 2000 he participated in the establishment of a Whitlam Institute at the University of Western Sydney .

Gough Whitlam was also a supporter of the movement towards the Republic of Australia. Before the referendum on November 6, 1999, he and his old adversary Malcolm Fraser actively and prominently campaigned for this goal .

Works

• The truth of the matter . 3. Edition. Melbourne University Publishing, Carton, Vic, 2005, ISBN 978-0-522-85212-7 .

literature

• Graham Freudenberg: A certain grandeur: Gough Whitlam's life in politics . Penguin Books, Camberwell, Vic, ISBN 978-0-670-07375-7 .
• Jenny Hocking: Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History . Melbourne University Publishing, Carton, Vic, 2008, ISBN 978-0-522-85511-1 .
• Michael Sexton: The Great Crash: The Short Life and Sudden Death of the Whitlam Government . Revised edition. Scribe Publications, Carton North, Vic, 2005, ISBN 978-1-920769-69-7 .

Web links

Commons : Gough Whitlam  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Prime Ministers portal website - Gough Whitlam of the National Archives of Australia
• Documents on Gough Whitlam at the National Archives of Australia

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michelle Innis: Gough Whitlam, Ex-Premier of Australia, Dies at 98. Obituary in The New York Times, October 21, 2014 (accessed October 21, 2014).
2. ^ East Timor Government: History , accessed August 5, 2012.
3. ↑ The Sidney Morning Herald: "High Court ruling favors release of 'Palace Papers' on Whitlam Dismissal"