Special Sub-Topic: Robert (Bob) Hawke, ex Australian Prime Minister Click Here To Play: Robert (Bob) Hawke, ex Australian Prime Minister

How many years was Bob Hawke the Australian Prime Minister?

8. Before being elected PM in March 1983, he was only in parliament for two years and only opposition leader for one month.

What position did Bob Hawke hold before entering politics?

President of the ACTU (Australian council of trade unions). Bob Hawke was the ACTU president from 1969 to 1980.

Which Victorian seat did Bob Hawke hold during his tenure as Prime Minister?

Wills. Bob Hawke held the seat of Wills through 4 general elections. Wills is in the North/Western suburbs of Melbourne.

Who did Bob Hawke unsuccessfully challenge in the 1963 general election?

Hubert Opperman. Bob Hawke stood for the ALP against the then Liberal minister for immigration in the seat of Corio.

Besides being an Australian Prime minister, Bob Hawke made the "Guinness Book of Records". What achievement won him a place in the record books?

Beer drinking. While at University College, Oxford, Bob Hawke drank two and a half pints of ale in only 11 seconds. This was punishment for not wearing his gown in the Great Hall for dinner. The penalty was to drink 2 and a half pints in under 25 seconds.

Who replaced Bob Hawke as Prime Minister in 1991?

Paul Keating. Paul Keating challenged Bob Hawke for the ALP leadership claiming Hawke reneged on a deal to hand over the leadership before the 1990 election. He was narrowly defeated and resigned from parliament in 1992.

What was unique about Bob Hawke's lead-in before becoming Prime Minister?

He was never a Cabinet Minister. Bob Hawke went straight from Union leader to member for Wills in 1980 and then leader of the opposition in 1982 after deposing Bill Hayden as ALP leader, then winning the next election.

What did Bob Hawke and earlier ALP leader John Curtin share in common?

Overcame alcoholism. Bob Hawke went through his entire term of office without a drink only resuming moderately after his retirement.

What was Bob Hawke's notable reformation as Prime Minister (it happened in September 1985)?

Introducing a Capital Gains tax. The introduction of the Capital Gains Tax was strongly opposed by the opposition at the time, but surpisingly was never reversed when thay returned to power in 1996. The dollar was floated in Decmber 1983, and the CBA was privatisedin the 1990s.

What eventually caused Bob Hawke's decline in popularity and then his demise as ALP leader and Prime Minister?

Credit blowout / high interest rates. This caused a severe recession in 1991 thus giving leverage to Treasurer Paul Keating to overthrow Bob Hawke as ALP leader, and Prime Minister.