Joan Kirner

Joan Kirner

Joan Elizabeth Kirner AC (born Joan Elizabeth Hood ; born June 20, 1938 in Essendon , Melbourne , Victoria ; † June 1, 2015 in Melbourne, Victoria) was an Australian politician of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), who between 1990 and 1992 as first and so far only woman to hold the post of Prime Minister of Victoria .

Life

Studies, teacher and parent representative

Joan Elizabeth Hood, daughter of the locksmith and turner John Keith Hood and the music teacher Beryl Edith Cole, began after visiting the Aberfeldie State School , the Penleigh Presbyterian Ladies' College and the University High School a teaching degree at the University of Melbourne , they 1958 graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA Ed.). She then worked as a teacher at a technology school for 18 months .

Her marriage to the teacher Ronald George Kirner on January 14, 1960 resulted in two sons and a daughter, so she gave up teaching and devoted herself to the care and upbringing of her children. In addition, she was involved in parenting work and parental representation and was first President of the Croydon North Kindergarten between 1963 and 1966 and later between 1969 and 1972 President of the Parents Association of the Croydon North State School and at the same time from 1971 to 1977 President of the parent association of schools in the state of Victoria, she was then managing director from 1978 to 1982.

In addition, Joan Kirner was involved as a member of the Australian School Commission between 1973 and 1978 and as President of the Advisory Board of Croydon High School between 1979 and 1980 . In 1980 she became a member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her commitment .

MP and Minister in the Government of Victoria

Joan Kirner, who became a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in 1978, began her political career as a member of election campaign commissions and was chairman of the ALP Committee on Education Policy from 1980 to 1990.

On April 3, 1982 she became a member of the Legislative Council , the upper house of the Parliament of Victoria , and represented in this until September 30, 1988 the interests of Melbourne West . At the beginning of her parliamentary membership, she was a member of the Committee for Social Development between 1982 and 1985 and, in 1983, a member of the Committee for the Prison Service. In 1985, she took her first ministerial office and served until 1988 in the government of Prime Minister John Cain, Jr. as Minister for Conservation, Forests and Lands .

In the elections of October 1, 1988, she was then elected in the constituency of Williamstown as a member of the Legislative Assembly , the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria, and was this until her resignation on May 27, 1994. As part of a government reshuffle, Prime Minister Cain appointed her Minister for Education in 1988 . In this office she stayed until 1990 and at the same time took over the post of Deputy Prime Minister on February 7, 1989 from Robert Fordham .

Prime Minister of Victoria from 1990 to 1992

After the resignation of Prime Minister Cain, Joan Kirner succeeded him as Prime Minister of Victoria on August 10, 1990, becoming the first woman to take over this role in this state. She was at the same time chairman (leader) of the Labor Party of Victoria and took in her cabinet between 1990 and 1992 also functions as Minister (Minister for Women's Affairs) and from 1990 to 1991 also as Minister of Ethnic Affairs (Minister for Ethnic Affairs) .

At her suggestion, the former Supreme Court Justice of Victoria Richard McGarvie was appointed Governor of Victoria on April 23, 1992 and held that office for five years until April 23, 1997 as the representative of Queen Elizabeth II in the state.

In the elections of October 3, 1992, the ALP suffered a heavy defeat, while the previously opposition Liberal Party of Australia (LPA) emerged as the winner. The Liberal Party received 1,153,770 votes (44.16) and gained 3.59 percentage points and 19 seats, giving it 52 seats in the 88-member Legislative Assembly. The Labor Party, on the other hand, lost 19 seats and 8.14 percentage points and, due to the electoral law, only got 27 seats with 1,003,495 votes (38.41 percent). The third strongest force was the National Party of Australia , which was able to defend its nine seats with 204,525 votes (7.83 percent).

The election was preceded by controversy over a loan from the Australian federal government to the government of Victoria. In November 1992, at the request of the opposition , the Australian Senate ordered an investigation into the government's credit practices. It was alleged that the Australian Treasury Secretary John Dawkins had allegedly kept secret an increase in the borrowing of 1.3 billion Australian dollars of the previous ALP government of Prime Minister Joan Kirner in the state of Victoria in order to avoid the party's victory in the October 1992 election to endanger. Although the Labor Party suffered a nationwide election defeat and Jeff Kennett of the Liberal Party became Victoria's new Prime Minister, the controversy escalated and contributed to the weakening of the Australian dollar.

Opposition leader and later engagement

After the election defeat, Joan Kirner took over the function of opposition leader in the Legislative Assembly in October 1992 and held the functions of shadow minister for women and ethnic affairs in her shadow cabinet until March 1993. In March 1993, she resigned as chairwoman of the ALP of Victoria and thus also gave up the role of opposition leader. He was succeeded in these functions by Jim Kennan , who had held the post of Attorney General in their government .

She herself acted as Vice President from 1993 to 1994 and then until 1995 as President of the Australian Labor Party in the state of Victoria.

After leaving the government, Joan Kirner became involved in various organizations, including chairing the Employment Services Regulatory Authority between 1994 and 1997 and chairing the Australian Center for Equity since 1996 in Education) . On June 11, 2002 she was also Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for her longstanding service.

Joan Kirner died after several years of illness as a result of osteoporosis and esophageal cancer .

Web links

• Entry on the Victoria Parliament website (accessed 1 June 2015)
• Joan Kirner, Victoria's first female premier, has passed away . In: The Herald Sun of June 1, 2015