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Biographical entry Hawke, Robert James Lee (1929 - )

AC, BA, LLB, BLitt(Oxon), Hon Duniv (SA)

Born
9 December 1929
Bordertown, South Australia
Occupation
Trade Union - Official and Politician - Federal - MHR

Summary

Bob Hawke was born on 9 December 1929 at Bordertown, South Australia. Educated at Perth Modern School, the University of Western Australia, and Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Hawke graduated from Oxford in 1955 with a degree of Bachelor of Letters for his thesis on the role of the Australian Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration and the development of the concept of the basic wage.

Three years later, in 1958, Hawke was employed as a Research Officer and Advocate with the Australian Council of Trade Unions [ACTU]. He held these positions along with his memberships with the Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union, the Federated Clerks' Union and the Amalgamated Metal Workers' & Shipwrights' Union until 1969 when he assumed the position of President of the ACTU.

In 1980 Hawke was elected to the Federal Parliament and to the leadership of the Australian Labor Party three years later. That same year, in 1983, after the ALP won the general election Bob Hawke became the Prime Minister of Australia. Australia's longest serving Labor Prime Minister, Hawke resigned from the Prime Ministership in 1991, and from Parliament in 1992.

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • Blanche D'Alpuget - Papers, 1963-1982, 1963 - 1982, MS 7348; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

National Library of Australia Oral History Collection

  • Charlie Fitzgibbon interviewed by Richard Raxworthy in the Labor Council of New South Wales oral history project, 1986, ORAL TRC 1948/19; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Edward Bennett interviewed by Richard Raxworthy in the Labor Council of New South Wales oral history project, 1988, ORAL TRC 1948/35; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • John Ducker interviewed by Richard Raxworthy in the Labor Council of New South Wales oral history project, 1988, ORAL TRC 1948/36; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Pat Clancy interviewed by Richard Raxworthy in the Labor Council of New South Wales oral history project, 1985 - 1986, ORAL TRC 1948/6; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details
  • Peter McMahon interviewed by Richard Raxworthy in the Labor Council of New South Wales oral history project, 1988, ORAL TRC 1948/41; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details

Published resources

Online Resources

Bruce A. Smith