Frank Walker (politician, 1942)

Francis John Walker QC (born July 7, 1942 in Sydney ; † June 12, 2012 ibid) was an Australian lawyer and politician of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), who, among other things, was a member of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales and the Australian House of Representatives as well as both Minister in the government of New South Wales as well as in the Australian federal government .

Life

Attorney and political background in New South Wales

After attending school, Walker began studying law at the University of Sydney , which he completed in 1964 with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.). He then took up a position as a solicitor in 1965 and practiced it until 1976. In the meantime, he continued his studies and obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) at the University of Sydney in 1969 . After finishing his work as a solicitor, he became a barrister in 1976 and worked as a lawyer until 1988 . In 1981 he was awarded the title of Crown Attorney .

In addition to his professional activity, he began his political career in the early 1970s when he was a candidate for the Australian Labor Party on September 19, 1970 when he was first elected a member of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales. In this he represented the constituency of Georges River until February 22, 1988 .

In May 1976 he was appointed by Prime Minister Neville Wran as Attorney General for the first time in a government of the state of New South Wales and held this position until 1983. He was also Minister of Justice between 1978 and 1983 and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the Wran Cabinet from 1981 to 1984 . Most recently he was a member of Prime Minister Wran's government between 1983 and 1986, also as Minister for Youth and Community Services.

In addition, he became Minister of Housing in 1983 and held this ministerial office in the government of Wran's successor as Prime Minister, Barrie Unsworth , until March 1988. He was also Minister for the Arts in the Unsworth Cabinet between July 1986 and March 1988.

Political career in federal politics and judge

On March 24, 1990, he was elected for the first time as a member of the House of Representatives of Australia, to which he was a member of the Robertson constituency until his electoral defeat on March 2, 1996 .

In 1993 the Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating appointed him Minister of State for Special Tasks in his cabinet, of which he was a member until 1994. At the same time, he was also Vice President of the Federal Executive Council , a constitutional body that advises the Governor General of Australia under the Constitution of Australia .

Walker was then Minister for Administrative Services in his cabinet from 1994 until the end of Keating's tenure in March 1996.

After losing his mandate and stepping down from the cabinet, he was first appointed judge at the Compensation Court of New South Wales in 1997 . After the dissolution of that court, he was 2003 Judge of the District Court ( District Court ) of New South Wales and came after four years in 2007 in the retirement .

Walker, who died of cancer , was also involved in helping people with schizophrenia between 1998 and his death after his two sons, who both suffered from schizophrenia, committed suicide when they were 33 years old .

Web links

• Entry on the homepage of the Parliament of New South Wales (accessed 25 June 2012)
• Frank Walker dies at 69 . In: The Sydney Morning Herald of June 13, 2012
• Former NSW and federal Labor MP Frank Walker dies . In: The Australian of June 13, 2012
• Obituary: Francis `Frank 'John Walker . In: Courier Mail Server (accessed June 25, 2012)