Whitlam, (Edward) Gough

Whitlam, (Edward) Gough (b. 11 July 1916). Prime Minister of Australia 1972–5 Born at Kew (Victoria), he graduated in arts and law from the University of Sydney, served in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II, and became a barrister in 1947, receiving the prestigious appointment of Queen's Counsel in 1962. He joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in 1945, and entered the House of Representatives in 1952. As deputy leader (from 1960) and leader (from 1967) he was instrumental in healing the divisions which had characterized the party since the Petrov Affair.

The first Labor Prime Minister since 1949, he set out to improve relations with Asian countries, taking up diplomatic links with the People's Republic of China. He also withdrew Australian troops from the Vietnam War. His government abandoned conscription, abolished university fees, and introduced universal healthcare (Medibank). However, he was hampered by an economic crisis caused by the 1973 oil-price shock, while his legislation faced constant hostility from the Liberal-Country Party majority in the Senate. The Country Party (National Party) forced him to call a new election in 1974, which he won. When the Senate refused to pass his budget in October 1975, the governor-general, Sir John Kerr (b. 1914, d. 1991) took the unprecedented step of intervening to dismiss Whitlam and appoint Fraser as leader of a minority government. New elections were called on December 1975, in which Whitlam's Labor Party was defeated. He resigned after Labor's defeat in the 1977 elections, and served as ambassador to UNESCO, 1983–8. Whitlam's dismissal by Kerr was legal, as it followed the letter of the law, but it violated its spirit. It sparked off gradual disillusionment with the constitutional system founded on the royal prerogative, and led to growing calls for the abolition of the monarchy.