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| Gough Whitlam, Australian prime minister who proved transformative, dies at 98 | Gough Whitlam, Australian prime minister who proved transformative, dies at 98 |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Gough Whitlam, whose 1972 election as Australia’s prime minister ushered in some of the most sweeping policy and social reforms in the country’s history before his dramatic and controversial dismissal from office in 1975, died Oct. 21 at a nursing home in Sydney. He was 98. | Gough Whitlam, whose 1972 election as Australia’s prime minister ushered in some of the most sweeping policy and social reforms in the country’s history before his dramatic and controversial dismissal from office in 1975, died Oct. 21 at a nursing home in Sydney. He was 98. |
| His family announced the death but did not disclose any further information. | His family announced the death but did not disclose any further information. |
| Impeccably dressed, toweringly tall and unabashedly aggressive, Mr. Whitlam was an imposing presence in Australian politics for more than two decades and revitalized the country’s left-leaning Labor Party after years of stagnation. He broke a union chokehold on the party and broadened its appeal to the middle class. | Impeccably dressed, toweringly tall and unabashedly aggressive, Mr. Whitlam was an imposing presence in Australian politics for more than two decades and revitalized the country’s left-leaning Labor Party after years of stagnation. He broke a union chokehold on the party and broadened its appeal to the middle class. |
| His administration launched major initiatives that transformed the country after more than 20 years of leadership by a conservative governing coalition. | His administration launched major initiatives that transformed the country after more than 20 years of leadership by a conservative governing coalition. |
| He established universal health care, oversaw the passage of a federal law banning racial discrimination and overhauled education by making college free for all Australians. In addition, he lowered the voting age to 18, abolished military conscription and relaxed divorce laws. | He established universal health care, oversaw the passage of a federal law banning racial discrimination and overhauled education by making college free for all Australians. In addition, he lowered the voting age to 18, abolished military conscription and relaxed divorce laws. |
| He also began the process of returning land rights to the continent’s aboriginal people — who had faced violent discrimination for generations. | He also began the process of returning land rights to the continent’s aboriginal people — who had faced violent discrimination for generations. |
| “He and his government brought Australia into the late-20th century,” said Jenny Hocking, an Australian scholar and Mr. Whitlam’s biographer. “They established the sorts of things we now take for granted.” | “He and his government brought Australia into the late-20th century,” said Jenny Hocking, an Australian scholar and Mr. Whitlam’s biographer. “They established the sorts of things we now take for granted.” |
| Mr. Whitlam was so ardent and controlling about shaping Australia’s foreign policy that he kept the cabinet-level diplomacy portfolio to himself. | Mr. Whitlam was so ardent and controlling about shaping Australia’s foreign policy that he kept the cabinet-level diplomacy portfolio to himself. |
| He sought to make Australia into a greater and more independent regional power, a maneuver that meant diluting the influence of close allies such as the United States and Britain without undermining strategic relationships with those nations. | He sought to make Australia into a greater and more independent regional power, a maneuver that meant diluting the influence of close allies such as the United States and Britain without undermining strategic relationships with those nations. |
| Mr. Whitlam completed the drawdown of Australia’s 60,000 troops from the unpopular Vietnam War. His administration’s public criticism of the massive bombing of Hanoi by the United States during Christmas 1972 was not well received in Washington. | |
| In 1972, he reestablished Australia’s diplomatic channels with China, which had been severed almost a quarter-century earlier because of the Maoist revolution. The action followed soon after President Richard M. Nixon’s decision to normalize U.S. relations with the communist nation. | |
| As prime minister, Mr. Whitlam also introduced a distinctive national anthem, “Advance Australia Fair,” instead of sharing one with Britain and struck the words “British subject” from Australian passports. | As prime minister, Mr. Whitlam also introduced a distinctive national anthem, “Advance Australia Fair,” instead of sharing one with Britain and struck the words “British subject” from Australian passports. |
| Mr. Whitlam notched a host of legislative achievements in an extraordinarily short time, but the breakneck pace of his reform program injected an element of chaos into his administration. | |
| As Mr. Whitlam struggled to offer solutions for his country’s flagging economy and soaring inflation rate, his career unraveled in one of the most notorious political scandals in Australian history. | As Mr. Whitlam struggled to offer solutions for his country’s flagging economy and soaring inflation rate, his career unraveled in one of the most notorious political scandals in Australian history. |
| After a small group of high-ranking officials in his administration sought loans from businessmen in the Middle East to help Australia plug its budget deficit, opposition leaders in Parliament refused to sign off on federal budget legislation. | After a small group of high-ranking officials in his administration sought loans from businessmen in the Middle East to help Australia plug its budget deficit, opposition leaders in Parliament refused to sign off on federal budget legislation. |
| The result was a weeks-long stalemate between Mr. Whitlam and the opposition. John Kerr, the nation’s governor-general, reacted to the impasse by dismissing Mr. Whitlam from office, tapping a never-before-used power that was vested in his mostly ceremonial and heretofore insignificant role. | The result was a weeks-long stalemate between Mr. Whitlam and the opposition. John Kerr, the nation’s governor-general, reacted to the impasse by dismissing Mr. Whitlam from office, tapping a never-before-used power that was vested in his mostly ceremonial and heretofore insignificant role. |
| Mr. Whitlam was removed from power on Nov. 11, 1975, and replaced by Malcolm Fraser of the rival Liberal party. Decades later, Mr. Whitlam remained unapologetically bitter about his ouster — especially because he was the one who appointed Kerr. | Mr. Whitlam was removed from power on Nov. 11, 1975, and replaced by Malcolm Fraser of the rival Liberal party. Decades later, Mr. Whitlam remained unapologetically bitter about his ouster — especially because he was the one who appointed Kerr. |
| Mr. Whitlam suggested that the CIA had a hand in encouraging Kerr to make his move, an accusation the U.S. government has repeatedly denied. | Mr. Whitlam suggested that the CIA had a hand in encouraging Kerr to make his move, an accusation the U.S. government has repeatedly denied. |
| The dismissal prompted outrage among Mr. Whitlam’s supporters, many of whom directed their indignation at Kerr, who resigned two years after the controversy. His status was so tarnished by the incident that his portrait in Parliament House reportedly had to be concealed so it wouldn’t be vandalized. | The dismissal prompted outrage among Mr. Whitlam’s supporters, many of whom directed their indignation at Kerr, who resigned two years after the controversy. His status was so tarnished by the incident that his portrait in Parliament House reportedly had to be concealed so it wouldn’t be vandalized. |
| “Well may we say, ‘God save the Queen,’ because nothing will save the governor-general,” Mr. Whitlam is said to have scoffed. | “Well may we say, ‘God save the Queen,’ because nothing will save the governor-general,” Mr. Whitlam is said to have scoffed. |
| After he was dismissed, Mr. Whitlam went back to his position in Parliament until 1978. He then spent three years as Australia’s ambassador to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. | After he was dismissed, Mr. Whitlam went back to his position in Parliament until 1978. He then spent three years as Australia’s ambassador to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. |
| Edward Gough Whitlam was born July 11, 1916, in the prosperous Melbourne suburb of Kew. Because he shared a first name with his grandfather, he was always known by his middle name, which rhymes with “cough.” | |
| Mr. Whitlam’s father, H. Frederick Whitlam, was the nation’s commonwealth crown solicitor, a high-ranking lawyer in Australia’s federal civil service. | Mr. Whitlam’s father, H. Frederick Whitlam, was the nation’s commonwealth crown solicitor, a high-ranking lawyer in Australia’s federal civil service. |
| Mr. Whitlam graduated in 1938 from St. Paul’s College at the University of Sydney and attended the university’s law school before joining Australia’s air force in 1941. During World War II, he spent three years as a navigator stationed throughout the Pacific. | Mr. Whitlam graduated in 1938 from St. Paul’s College at the University of Sydney and attended the university’s law school before joining Australia’s air force in 1941. During World War II, he spent three years as a navigator stationed throughout the Pacific. |
| He completed his law degree after the war, and his initial forays into politics were unsuccessful. The prominence of his father’s position and his family’s comfortable middle-class status were initially an obstacle for Mr. Whitlam when he tried to win approval from the Labor Party. He was an outsider in a group that prided itself on its working-class roots and sensibilities. | He completed his law degree after the war, and his initial forays into politics were unsuccessful. The prominence of his father’s position and his family’s comfortable middle-class status were initially an obstacle for Mr. Whitlam when he tried to win approval from the Labor Party. He was an outsider in a group that prided itself on its working-class roots and sensibilities. |
| His fortunes changed in 1952, when the resignation of a member of Parliament led to a special election in a Werriwa, an industrial suburb of Sydney. Mr. Whitlam won the race handily, but he still had to overcome the prejudices of many in his party. | His fortunes changed in 1952, when the resignation of a member of Parliament led to a special election in a Werriwa, an industrial suburb of Sydney. Mr. Whitlam won the race handily, but he still had to overcome the prejudices of many in his party. |
| As Australia-based journalist Colin Chapman once wrote in The Washington Post, “To rough-edged Labor parliamentarians, reared in the Australian shearing sheds or at the work benches and nurtured by the trade unions, Whitlam was a city slicker. His well-cut suits, his impressive manner, his command of language, his intellectualism earned him not respect or envy, but scorn.” | As Australia-based journalist Colin Chapman once wrote in The Washington Post, “To rough-edged Labor parliamentarians, reared in the Australian shearing sheds or at the work benches and nurtured by the trade unions, Whitlam was a city slicker. His well-cut suits, his impressive manner, his command of language, his intellectualism earned him not respect or envy, but scorn.” |
| “When he finally won support,” Chapman added, “it was because of hard work on the hustings and his independence as demonstrated by his forthright and opinionated stands.” | “When he finally won support,” Chapman added, “it was because of hard work on the hustings and his independence as demonstrated by his forthright and opinionated stands.” |
| He gradually grew into an eminence within the Labor Party, rising in 1967 to opposition leader (a position similar to minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives). | He gradually grew into an eminence within the Labor Party, rising in 1967 to opposition leader (a position similar to minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives). |
| There, he gained a reputation among his colleagues for his fiery temper, which on occasion reportedly led him to pour a glass of water on a minister from the opposite party. | There, he gained a reputation among his colleagues for his fiery temper, which on occasion reportedly led him to pour a glass of water on a minister from the opposite party. |
| His wife of 69 years, the former Margaret Dovey, died in 2012. Survivors include four children. | His wife of 69 years, the former Margaret Dovey, died in 2012. Survivors include four children. |
| Mr. Whitlam was notoriously immodest about his term as prime minister and about what awaited him as he grew older. When an Australian reporter asked him about his sense of the afterlife, he quipped, “You can be sure of one thing. I shall treat Him as an equal.” | Mr. Whitlam was notoriously immodest about his term as prime minister and about what awaited him as he grew older. When an Australian reporter asked him about his sense of the afterlife, he quipped, “You can be sure of one thing. I shall treat Him as an equal.” |