Edward Gough Whitlam was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), of which he was the longest-serving. He was notable for being the head of a reformist and socially progressive administration that extraordinarily ended with his removal as prime minister after controversially being dismissed by the governor-general of Australia, Sir John Kerr, at the climax of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Whitlam is the only Australian prime minister to have ever been removed from office against his will.
John Malcolm Fraser was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is accountable to federal parliament under the principles of responsible government. The prime minister is the chair of the federal cabinet and the national cabinet and a member of the federal executive council. The current prime minister is Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party, who assumed the office on 23 May 2022.
Sir John Grey Gorton was an Australian politician, farmer and airman who served as the 19th prime minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, having previously been a senator for Victoria. He was the first and only member of the upper house of the parliament of Australia to assume the office of prime minister.
Sir William McMahon was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. He was a government minister for over 21 years, the longest continuous service in Australian history.
Defence Australia is a department of the Government of Australia charged with the responsibility to defend Australia and its national interests. Along with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), it forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) and is accountable to the Commonwealth Parliament, on behalf of the Australian people, for the efficiency and effectiveness with which it carries out the Government's defence policy.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is an Australian Government public service central department of state with broad ranging responsibilities, primary of which is for intergovernmental and whole of government policy coordination and assisting the prime minister of Australia in managing the Cabinet of Australia. The PM&C was established in 1971 and traces its origins back to the Prime Minister's Department established in 1911.
Ainsley Gotto was an Australian public servant and entrepreneur, who was the private secretary to John Gorton, the Prime Minister of Australia in the late 1960s.
Sir David Eric Fairbairn, was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1975. He held ministerial office as Minister for Air (1962–1964), National Development (1964–1969), Education and Science (1971), and Defence (1971–1972).
Sir Edward John Bunting was an Australian public servant and diplomat, whose senior career appointments included Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
In Australia, a departmental secretary is the most senior public servant of an Australian Government or state government department. They are typically responsible for the day-to-day actions of a department.
Sir Alan Thomas Carmody was an Australian public servant and government official, who was knighted for his contributions.
The Gorton government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Gorton. It was made up of members of a Liberal-Country Party coalition in the Australian Parliament from January 1968 to March 1971.
Sir Cyrus Lenox Simson Hewitt was an Australian public servant. His career in the Commonwealth Public Service spanned from 1939 to 1980, and included periods as a senior adviser and departmental secretary. His most prominent position was as secretary of the Prime Minister's Department during the Gorton government (1968–1971). He worked closely with Prime Minister John Gorton, although his initial appointment in place of John Bunting was seen as unconventional. Hewitt was also influential as secretary of the Department of Minerals and Energy during the Whitlam government (1972–1975), working under minister Rex Connor. He later served as chairman of Qantas (1975–1980).
Sir Peter James Lawler was an Australian senior public servant and diplomat. He served in senior roles under Prime Ministers Menzies, Holt, McEwen, Gorton, McMahon, Whitlam, Fraser and Hawke, and ended his career as Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See.
The Prime Minister's Department was an Australian government department that existed between July 1911 and March 1971.
Sir Geoffrey John "Geoff" Yeend was a senior Australian public servant. He was Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet between 1978 and 1986.
The Liberal Party of Australia held a leadership spill on 7 November 1969, following the party's poor performance at the federal election on 25 October. Prime Minister John Gorton was re-elected as the party's leader, defeating challengers William McMahon and David Fairbairn.
The Liberal Party of Australia held a leadership spill on 10 March 1971. Prime Minister John Gorton called for a vote of confidence in his leadership, which was tied, prompting Gorton to resign. William McMahon subsequently defeated Billy Snedden for the leadership, and was sworn in as prime minister on the same day. Gorton was elected as his deputy, defeating Malcolm Fraser and David Fairbairn.
