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 constitutional crisis. Whitlam is the only Australian prime minister ever to have 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.
Francis Daniel Crean was an Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1951 to 1977, representing the Labor Party. He was a minister in the Whitlam government, including as Treasurer from 1972 to 1974 and Deputy Prime Minister for a few months in 1975.
John Douglas Anthony PC was an Australian politician. He served as leader of the National Party of Australia from 1971 to 1984 and was the second and longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister, holding the position under John Gorton (1971), William McMahon (1971–1972) and Malcolm Fraser (1975–1983).
In Australian federal politics, the Leader of the Opposition is an elected member of parliament (MP) in the Australian House of Representatives who leads the opposition. The Leader of the Opposition, by convention, is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government.
The Cabinet of Australia, also known as the Federal Cabinet, is the chief decision-making body of the executive branch of the federal government of Australia. The cabinet is appointed by the prime minister of Australia and is composed of senior government ministers who head the executive departments and ministries of the federal government, this often includes assistant ministers and a number of special envoys and other government advisors. The cabinet is separate to the federal Department of the Prime Ministers and Cabinet.
The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 federal election, ending a record 23 years of continuous Coalition government. It was terminated by Governor-General Sir John Kerr following the 1975 constitutional crisis and was succeeded by the Fraser government—the sole occasion in Australian history when an elected federal government was dismissed by the head of state.
The 1972 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, as well as a single Senate seat in Queensland. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister William McMahon, was defeated by the opposition Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam. Labor's victory ended 23 years of successive Coalition governments that began in 1949 and started the three-year Whitlam Labor Government.
The 1969 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 25 October 1969. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister John Gorton, won the election with a severely diminished majority over the opposition Labor Party, led by Gough Whitlam despite losing the two party popular vote. Both major parties had changed their leaders in the run-up to the election, the first time this had occurred since 1946. The victory was the ninth consecutive general election won by the Coalition, and remains the record number of consecutive terms won by any Australian Federal Government.
Samuel Herbert Cohen QC was an Australian politician and barrister. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as a Senator for Victoria from 1962 until his death in 1969. He was also a member of Gough Whitlam's shadow ministry from 1967. He was the first Jew elected to the Senate.
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.
The Holt government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Harold Holt. It was made up of members of a Liberal-Country Party coalition in the Australian Parliament from 26 January 1966 to 19 December 1967.
The McMahon government was the period of federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister William McMahon of the Liberal Party. It was made up of members of a coalition between the Liberal Party and the Country Party, led by Doug Anthony as Deputy Prime Minister. The McMahon government lasted from March 1971 to December 1972, being defeated at the 1972 federal election. Writing for the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Julian Leeser describes McMahon's prime ministership as "a blend of cautious innovation and fundamental orthodoxy".
The Shadow Ministry of Gough Whitlam was the opposition Australian Labor Party shadow ministry of Australia from 21 January 1976 to 29 December 1977, opposing Malcolm Fraser's Coalition ministry.
The Frontbench of Arthur Calwell was the opposition Australian Labor Party frontbench of Australia from 7 March 1960 to 8 February 1967, opposing the Liberal-Country Coalition government.
The Shadow Ministry of Bill Hayden was the opposition Australian Labor Party shadow ministry of Australia from 29 December 1977 to 3 February 1983, opposing Malcolm Fraser's Coalition ministry.
The Frontbench of H. V. Evatt was the opposition Australian Labor Party frontbench of Australia from 20 June 1951 to 9 February 1960, opposing the Liberal-Country Coalition government led by Robert Menzies.
The Frontbench of Ben Chifley was the federal Australian Labor Party frontbench from 13 July 1945 until Chifley's death on 13 June 1951. It was opposed by the Liberal-Country Coalition led by Robert Menzies.
The Frontbench of John Curtin was the federal Australian Labor Party frontbench from 1 October 1935 until Curtin's death on 5 July 1945. It was opposed by the UAP-Country Coalition.
