Party Leadership


Leader of the Labor Party
In office 18 January 2005 – 4 December 2006
Deputy	Jenny Macklin
Preceded by	Mark Latham
Succeeded by	Kevin Rudd
In office 19 March 1996 – 22 November 2001
Deputy	Gareth Evans Simon Crean
Preceded by	Paul Keating
Succeeded by	Simon Crean
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party
In office 20 June 1995 – 19 March 1996
Leader	Paul Keating
Preceded by	Brian Howe
Succeeded by	Gareth Evans

Cabinet Positions

Minister for Finance
In office 23 December 1993 – 11 March 1996
Prime Minister	Paul Keating
Preceded by	Ralph Willis
Succeeded by	John Fahey
Minister for Employment and Education
In office 27 December 1991 – 23 December 1993
Prime Minister	Paul Keating
Preceded by	John Dawkins
Succeeded by	Simon Crean
Minister for Transport and Communications
In office 4 April 1990 – 27 December 1991
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke
Preceded by	Ralph Willis
Succeeded by	Graham Richardson
Minister for Defence
In office 13 December 1984 – 4 April 1990
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke
Preceded by	Gordon Scholes
Succeeded by	Robert Ray
Minister for Aviation
In office 11 March 1983 – 13 December 1984
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke
Preceded by	Wal Fife
Succeeded by	Peter Morris

Ambassador of Australia to
the United States

In office
17 February 2010 – 22 January 2016

Prime Minister

Preceded by

Dennis Richardson

Succeeded by

Joe Hockey

Member of the Australian Parliament
for Brand

In office
2 March 1996 – 17 October 2007

Preceded by

Wendy Fatin

Succeeded by

Gary Gray

Member of the Australian Parliament
for Swan

In office
18 October 1980 – 2 March 1996

Preceded by

John Martyr

Succeeded by

Don Randall

Personal details

Born

Kim Christian Beazley

14 December 1948 (age 76)
Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia

Political party

Labor

Spouses

Mary Ciccarelli

(m. 1974; div. 1988)
Susie Annus

(m. 1990)

Children

3, including Hannah

Parents

Kim Beazley Sr.
Betty Judge

Education

Hollywood Senior High School

Alma mater

University of Western Australia (BA, MA)
Balliol College, Oxford (MPhil)

Profession

Academic, politician, diplomat

Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian who has held many important jobs. He was a politician and a diplomat. Since 2022, he has been the chairman of the Australian War Memorial.

Before that, he was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He was also the leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and again from 2005 to 2006. He was a minister in the Australian government under Prime Ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. After leaving parliament, he worked as Australia's ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2016. He then became the 33rd governor of Western Australia from 2018 to 2022.

Kim Beazley was born in Perth. His father, Kim Beazley Sr., was also a politician. Kim Beazley studied at the University of Western Australia and Balliol College, Oxford. He even won a special scholarship called a Rhodes Scholarship. After teaching at Murdoch University, he was elected to the Parliament in 1980.

Prime Minister Bob Hawke made him a minister in 1983. Kim Beazley was a minister until 1996. He was the Minister for Defence from 1984 to 1990. He was also the Leader of the House and Minister for Finance. From 1995 to 1996, he was the Deputy Prime Minister.

After his party lost the election in 1996, Kim Beazley became the leader of the Labor Party. He tried to become Prime Minister in the 1998 and 2001 elections but did not win enough seats. He later became leader again in 2005. In 2006, he was replaced by Kevin Rudd. Kim Beazley left Parliament in 2007. In 2010, he became the Ambassador to the United States. In 2018, he was chosen to be the Governor of Western Australia.

Early Life and Education
Political Career
After Politics
Awards and Honours
Family Life
See also

Early Life and Education

Kim Beazley was born in Subiaco, Western Australia, on 14 December 1948. His father, Kim Beazley Sr., was a Member of Parliament for Fremantle. He was also the Minister for Education from 1972 to 1975. Kim's mother, Betty Judge, was a champion in Australian athletics.

When he was six years old, Kim Beazley got polio. He went to Hollywood Senior High School. Then he studied at the University of Western Australia, where he earned two degrees. After that, he won a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Balliol College, Oxford in England. While at Oxford, he became friends with Tony Blair, who later became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He also befriended Geoff Gallop, who later became the Premier of Western Australia.

When he returned to Australia, Kim Beazley taught politics at Murdoch University in Perth. He had been a member of the Labor Party since he was young. In 1979, he was chosen to run for the seat of Division of Swan. He was elected to the House of Representatives in the 1980 election.

Political Career

Working as a Cabinet Minister (1983–1996)

Kim Beazley on the USS MISSOURI in 1986, learning about a large gun.

Kim Beazley was seen as a rising star by Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Hawke made Beazley a minister right after he was elected in 1983. His first job was Minister for Aviation. After the 1984 election, Beazley became Minister for Defence. He held this important role until 1990, making him one of the longest-serving Defence Ministers.

As Defence Minister, Beazley was very active and often spoke to the media. He helped start the Royal Australian Navy's submarine program. Because of his interest in military matters, he was sometimes called "Bomber Beazley" by the media.

In 1988, Prime Minister Hawke gave Beazley another job: Leader of the House. He kept this role until the Labor government ended in 1996. After the 1990 election, Beazley asked to become Minister for Transport and Communications. This allowed him to focus more on issues within Australia. He supported Bob Hawke during leadership challenges in 1991.

When Paul Keating became Prime Minister in December 1991, he made Beazley the Minister for Employment and Education. In this role, Beazley helped create programs to help people move from welfare to work.

After Labor won the 1993 election, Kim Beazley became a strong supporter of Paul Keating. Keating then appointed him Minister for Finance. Here, Beazley helped set up important changes like compulsory superannuation schemes. In 1995, Beazley was chosen to be the Deputy Leader of the Labor Party. He then became Deputy Prime Minister until Labor lost the election in 1996.

Over the years, it became harder for Beazley to keep his seat in Parliament. So, before the 1996 election, he moved to a safer Labor seat called Brand.

First Time as Leader of the Opposition (1996–2001)

After Labor lost badly to John Howard's party in 1996, Kim Beazley was chosen as the Leader of the Labor Party. This also made him the Leader of the Opposition.

Beazley started strongly in his new role. He became popular in opinion polls, especially after John Howard introduced a new tax called the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Beazley also spoke at the Constitutional Convention in 1998. He believed Australia should become a republic, meaning its head of state should be an Australian, not the British monarch.

In the 1998 election, Labor won more votes overall. However, they did not win enough seats to form a government. Even though they didn't win, Beazley was re-elected as Labor Leader. For the next three years, Labor was ahead in the polls. It looked like they would win the next election. But in 2001, after the Tampa affair (where the government stopped asylum seekers from landing), Beazley's popularity dropped. The September 11 attacks also increased support for John Howard. Labor then lost the 2001 election.

Backbencher and Shadow Cabinet Minister (2001–2005)

Kim Beazley outside Parliament House, Canberra, in July 2004. He was the Shadow Minister for Defence at the time.

After losing two elections, Kim Beazley decided to step down as Labor Leader in 2001. Simon Crean took over. Beazley then sat as a regular Member of Parliament for the first time since 1983. By 2003, Simon Crean's popularity was low. Beazley was asked to challenge Crean for the leadership, but Crean won that vote.

However, Crean continued to struggle. In November 2003, he announced he would resign. Beazley tried for the leadership again but lost by a small number of votes to Mark Latham. Beazley said he would stay in Parliament but probably not return to a front-bench role. However, in July 2004, Mark Latham asked Beazley to become the Shadow Defence Minister. This was to show the public that a Labor government would still support the alliance with the United States.

Second Time as Leader of the Opposition (2005–2006)

Kim Beazley in November 2005, talking about Labor's plans.

Kim Beazley speaking to a crowd protesting new laws in Melbourne, November 2006.

Labor lost the 2004 election. After Mark Latham resigned, Kim Beazley was chosen as leader again in January 2005. He said he was confident he could lead Labor to win the next election.

In 2006, Beazley focused on the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) scandal and the government's new laws called WorkChoices. The AWB scandal involved claims of illegal payments. Beazley's leadership faced criticism because of these issues and problems within the Labor Party. His popularity in opinion polls was very low.

Beazley's leadership was weakened by some public mistakes. On 30 November 2006, Kevin Rudd announced he would challenge Beazley for the leadership. In a vote on 4 December, Rudd defeated Beazley.

After the vote, Beazley said he would be leaving politics. It was later revealed that his brother had died shortly before the vote. Prime Minister John Howard praised Beazley, calling him a "thoroughly decent man." Some people later said that removing Beazley as leader might have been a mistake.

After Politics

Kim Beazley giving an ANZAC Day message in Washington in 2014.

Kim Beazley with Mayor Eric Garcetti in California, May 2015.

On 13 December 2006, Kim Beazley announced he would retire from Parliament at the 2007 election. Labor won that election by a lot. In 2009, Beazley received a high honour, becoming a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for his service to the Australian Parliament.

Beazley became a professor at the University of Western Australia. He taught politics and international relations. He also served as the Chancellor of the Australian National University in 2009.

Ambassador to the United States (2010–2016)

In September 2009, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that Kim Beazley would become Australia's Ambassador to the United States. He started this job on 17 February 2010. As Ambassador, he worked to promote free trade around the world. He finished this role in January 2016.

After returning to Australia in 2016, Beazley became the president of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. He also became a distinguished fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

Governor of Western Australia (2018–2022)

In September 2017, it was reported that Kim Beazley was the top choice to become the next governor of Western Australia. On 3 April 2018, the Premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan, confirmed that Queen Elizabeth II had approved Beazley for the role. Beazley became governor on 1 May 2018.

In an interview in 2018, Beazley explained why he continued to work in public life:

I've always had a concern with Australian survival, when you look at the various commitments I've had in political life, an awful lot of it revolves around our national defence. And the sense that I have is that survival is a close-run thing for Australia. Survival on many fronts. The quality of our community is part of that. Our education system is part of that. Our family life is part of that. But also the physical defence of our approaches is part of that. You think about your kids. You think about your grandkids. You think about everybody else's kids. You think about your friends. And you think, what we've got here is a society worth preserving and worth improving. And if you find yourself lucky enough to engage with it ... then you must continue.

Viceregal styles of Kim Beazley (2018–2022)

Reference style	His Excellency the Honourable
Spoken style	Your Excellency

Chairman of the Australian War Memorial Council

Kim Beazley was appointed chairman of the Australian War Memorial Council on 2 December 2022. In this role, he continues to talk about Australia's defence. He strongly supports the AUKUS security partnership, which involves nuclear-powered submarines. He believes these submarines will be "worth the wait." He has also said that Australia needs to spend more money on its military to defend itself properly.

Awards and Honours

2007: Professorial Fellow of the University of Western Australia
2009: Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for his service to the Australian Parliament.
2018: Honorary Commodore in the Royal Australian Navy.
2018: Colonel of the Royal Western Australia Regiment.
2018: Deputy Prior of the Order of St John.
2019: Knight of Grace of the Order of St John

Family Life

Kim Beazley has three daughters. He was married to Mary Ciccarelli from 1974 to 1988, and they had two daughters, Jessica and Hannah. He married Susie Annus in 1990, and they have a daughter named Rachel. His daughter Hannah Beazley also became a politician in 2019. She won a seat in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly in 2021.

Kim Beazley facts for kids

Contents

Early Life and Education

Political Career

Working as a Cabinet Minister (1983–1996)

First Time as Leader of the Opposition (1996–2001)

Backbencher and Shadow Cabinet Minister (2001–2005)

Second Time as Leader of the Opposition (2005–2006)

After Politics

Ambassador to the United States (2010–2016)

Governor of Western Australia (2018–2022)

Chairman of the Australian War Memorial Council

Awards and Honours

Family Life

See also