Geoff Gallop facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honourable Geoff Gallop AC FASSA
Gallop at the Midland Railway Workshops in 2002
27th Premier of Western Australia
In office 10 February 2001 – 16 January 2006
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor	John Sanderson
Deputy	Eric Ripper
Preceded by	Richard Court
Succeeded by	Alan Carpenter
Leader of the Opposition
In office 8 October 1996 – 10 February 2001
Premier	Richard Court
Deputy	Jim McGinty Eric Ripper
Preceded by	Jim McGinty
Succeeded by	Richard Court
Leader of the Western Australian Labor Party
In office 8 October 1996 – 25 January 2006
Preceded by	Jim McGinty
Succeeded by	Alan Carpenter
Member of the Western Australian Parliament for Victoria Park
In office 7 June 1986 – 25 January 2006
Preceded by	Ron Davies
Succeeded by	Ben Wyatt
Personal details
Born	Geoffrey Ian Gallop (1951-09-27) 27 September 1951 (age 73) Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia
Political party	Labor Party
Spouses	Beverly Diane Jones ​ ​ (m. 1975; died 2009)​ Ingrid van Beek ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	2
Alma mater	St John's College, Oxford Nuffield College, Oxford University of Western Australia
Profession	Academic

Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician. He was the 27th Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. Today, he is a professor at the University of Sydney. He also used to lead the Australian Republican Movement.

Geoff Gallop was born in Geraldton, Western Australia. He studied at the University of Western Australia. Later, he went to St John's College at the University of Oxford after winning a special scholarship called a Rhodes Scholarship.

He joined the Labor Party in 1971. Before becoming a state politician, he was a councillor for the City of Fremantle from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, he was elected to represent Victoria Park in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.

Gallop held several important jobs in the government before becoming the Leader of the Opposition in 1996. In 2001, his party won the election, and he became Premier. He won another election in 2005. In 2006, he decided to step down as Premier and leave politics to focus on his health.

Early Life and Learning

Geoff Gallop was born and went to school in Geraldton. In 1969, he started studying economics at The University of Western Australia (UWA). He joined the Labor Party in 1971.

In 1972, he received a Rhodes Scholarship. This allowed him to study at St John's College, Oxford in 1974. There, he became good friends with Tony Blair, who later became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Tony Blair is also the godfather to Gallop's son, Tom. Gallop was a groomsman at Blair's wedding. He is also a long-time friend of former federal Labor Leader Kim Beazley.

Gallop earned a doctorate degree from Oxford in 1983. Before he became a state politician, he worked as a teacher at Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia. He also served as a City Councillor in Fremantle from 1983 to 1986.

Starting in Politics

Geoff Gallop was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the area of Victoria Park in 1986. From 1990 to 1993, he held several important roles in the Labor Government. These included Minister for Education, Fuel and Energy, and Minister assisting the Treasurer.

When the Labor government lost the election in 1993, Gallop was chosen as the Deputy Leader of the State Labor Party.

Becoming Opposition Leader

While in opposition, he was responsible for areas like Treasury, Health, and Aboriginal Affairs. In October 1996, Jim McGinty stepped down as Leader of the Opposition. He chose Gallop to take his place.

Soon after, Gallop led the Labor Party into the state election in December 1996. His party was defeated by the Liberal Party government, led by Richard Court. Even though they lost, Gallop remained the leader of the Labor Party.

Leading the State as Premier

At the state election in February 2001, Gallop led the Labor Party to a big win. They gained many seats from the Liberals. This was one of the largest changes in votes against a government in Western Australia since 1911.

Geoff Gallop became the Premier of Western Australia. He was also the Minister for Public Sector Management, Science, and Multicultural Interests. He won a second term as Premier in the election on 26 February 2005.

As Premier, Dr. Gallop made many important changes. He reformed election rules and worked for equality for gay and lesbian people. He changed laws about work and helped resolve issues related to Native Title for Indigenous communities.

He also changed the law to require all 16- and 17-year-olds to be in education or training. He was the first Premier to support building a major water desalination plant. He stopped the cutting down of all old-growth forests in the state, creating many new national parks. He also started building the Perth to Mandurah Railway.

As Minister for Science, he created the Science Council. He also put a lot of money into research and development in Western Australia. He started a program to attract top researchers from other places.

Why He Stepped Down

On 16 January 2006, Geoff Gallop announced he was stepping down as Premier. He also said he was leaving politics. He explained that he needed to focus on his health and family.

Eric Ripper, who was the Deputy Premier, became the Acting Premier for a short time. Alan Carpenter was then chosen as the new leader of the Labor Party. He became Premier on 25 January 2006.

After Politics

After leaving politics in 2006, Gallop became a professor. He is now the director of the Graduate School of Government at Sydney University.

He has also held several important roles in public service. From 2007 to 2009, he was part of a health task force in New South Wales. From 2007 to 2011, he was the deputy chair of the COAG Reform Council. In 2008, he joined a commission that advised the government on health and hospitals.

He joined the advisory board of the Hawke Research Institute in 2010. Since 2011, he has chaired the New Democracy Foundation's Research Committee. He also advises the University of Sydney Medical School.

In 2011, he was appointed to chair the Australia Awards Board. He also became a member of the Commonwealth's International Education Advisory Council. He has written columns for WA Today and the Australian newspaper.

In 2010, Gallop became chairman of the research committee for The newDemocracy Foundation. This group studies better ways for governments to work. He is also a supporter of the Jhana Grove Meditation Centre.

In November 2012, Gallop was elected chairman of the Australian Republic Movement. This group supports Australia becoming a republic, meaning it would have its own head of state instead of the British monarch. In 2019, he was reportedly appointed to the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

His Ideas and Beliefs

Geoff Gallop strongly supports the idea of an Australian republic. He played a key role in the push for a directly elected president at the 1998 Constitutional Convention.

Gallop also supports drug policy reform.

Awards and Recognition

• In 2001, he received the Centenary Medal. He was also given Life Membership of the Association for the Blind (Western Australia).
• In 2003, he was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia.
• In 2006, the University of Western Australia gave him an honorary Doctor of Letters degree.
• In 2008, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia. This is a very high honour.
• In 2022, he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.