Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia
Encyclopedia
The spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
is a position that until 24 June 2010 was occupied exclusively by women, thus the spouse was often known as the Prime Minister's wife.
The incumbent Prime Minister (since 24 June 2010) is Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
and her domestic partner is Tim Mathieson
Tim Mathieson
Timothy Raymond Mathieson is an Australian real estate agent and partner of Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He entered the public spotlight in 2006 when they became partners. Gillard was Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party at the time....
. She is the only Australian Prime Minister who has never married. John McEwen
John McEwen
Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
was a widower at the time of becoming Prime Minister, and he remarried after leaving the office.
Activities
The Prime Minister's spouse has no official duties. Some earlier spouses stayed mainly at home and took little part in public life.However, most recent Prime Ministers' spouses have been involved in charities or community organisations, working to raise public awareness, funds, and support for a range of causes. They generally assist their partners in political campaigns, and participate in official duties that come with the position, such as hosting foreign dignitaries, and, in particular, entertaining the spouses of dignitaries; accompanying the Prime Ministers on national and international trips; attending conferences and functions; and speaking in public, particularly in the Prime Minister's constituency. They have attended the opening of Parliament; hosted visitors at The Lodge and Kirribilli House
Kirribilli House
Kirribilli House is the official Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister. The house is located at the far eastern end of Kirribilli Avenue in the harbourside suburb of Kirribilli...
; visited Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, or the Japanese Imperial Palace; and been present at royal coronations and conferences.
Others were preoccupied with rearing children, most notably Dame Enid Lyons
Enid Lyons
Dame Enid Muriel Lyons, AD, GBE was an Australian politician and the first woman to be elected to the Australian House of Representatives as well as the first woman appointed to the federal Cabinet...
(1932-39), who had 12 children (one died in infancy). Despite her maternal role, she is the only Prime Minister's spouse to have gone into politics in her own right. In 1943, four years after her husband's death in office, she was the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
. She was a junior minister in the Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
Government from 1949 to 1951.
Official recognition
Some Prime Ministers' spouses have received official recognition for their services to the community:- Dame Flora ReidFlora ReidDame Florence "Flora" Reid GBE was the wife of the Prime Minister of Australia Sir George Reid.-Biodata:...
, Dame Mary Cook, Dame Mary HughesMary HughesDame Mary Hughes GBE was the second wife of Billy Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia 1915-1923.-Personal life:...
, Dame Enid LyonsEnid LyonsDame Enid Muriel Lyons, AD, GBE was an Australian politician and the first woman to be elected to the Australian House of Representatives as well as the first woman appointed to the federal Cabinet...
, Dame Pattie MenziesPattie MenziesDame Pattie Maie Menzies GBE was the wife of Australia’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies.-Biography:...
and Dame Zara HoltZara BateDame Zara Kate Bate DBE was an Australian fashion designer and wife of the Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt....
were given damehoods - Margaret WhitlamMargaret WhitlamMargaret Whitlam AO is a prominent Australian personality and the wife of former Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam...
, Tamie FraserTamie FraserTamie Fraser AO is the wife of Malcolm Fraser, who held office as Prime Minister of Australia between 1975 and 1983. -Early life:...
and Hazel HawkeHazel HawkeHazel Hawke, AO is the former wife of Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia 1983–91. They divorced after he left the prime ministership. She worked in social policy areas, and was an excellent amateur pianist and a patron of the arts...
were made Officers of the Order of AustraliaOrder of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
.
Tamie Fraser was the first spouse of a Prime Minister to be provided with an official secretary for dealing with her correspondence.
Living spouses
There are currently seven living spouses of Australian prime ministers:- Margaret WhitlamMargaret WhitlamMargaret Whitlam AO is a prominent Australian personality and the wife of former Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam...
(wife of Gough WhitlamGough WhitlamEdward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
) - Tamie FraserTamie FraserTamie Fraser AO is the wife of Malcolm Fraser, who held office as Prime Minister of Australia between 1975 and 1983. -Early life:...
(wife of Malcolm FraserMalcolm FraserJohn Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
) - Hazel HawkeHazel HawkeHazel Hawke, AO is the former wife of Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia 1983–91. They divorced after he left the prime ministership. She worked in social policy areas, and was an excellent amateur pianist and a patron of the arts...
(ex-wife of Bob HawkeBob HawkeRobert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
) - Annita van IerselAnnita van IerselAnnita Keating van Iersel is the estranged Dutch-born wife of Paul Keating, the former Prime Minister of Australia.Born as Anna Johanna Maria van Iersel to a devout Roman Catholic family in Oisterwijk, Noord Brabant, Netherlands, she studied languages in Paris and London. She worked at KLM as a...
(estranged wife of Paul KeatingPaul KeatingPaul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
) - Janette HowardJanette HowardJanette Howard is the wife of John Howard, who was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:Alison Janette Parker was born in Kingsford, a working-class suburb of Sydney in 1944. Her father was an engineer with the New South Wales railways. The family later moved to Vaucluse...
(wife of John HowardJohn HowardJohn Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
) - Thérèse ReinThérèse ReinThérèse Rein is an Australian entrepreneur and founder of Ingeus, an international employment and business psychology services company. Ingeus operates from more than 150 locations across the UK, Australia, France, Switzerland, Germany, Korea, Sweden, Poland, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and New...
(wife of Kevin RuddKevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
). - Tim MathiesonTim MathiesonTimothy Raymond Mathieson is an Australian real estate agent and partner of Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He entered the public spotlight in 2006 when they became partners. Gillard was Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party at the time....
(partner of Julia GillardJulia GillardJulia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
)
Table
| No. | Name | Prime Minister | Term start date | Term end date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jane Barton (Lady Barton) | (Sir) Edmund Barton Edmund Barton Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia.... | 1 January 1901 | 24 September 1903 |
| 2 | Pattie Deakin | Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the... | 24 September 1903 5 July 1905 2 June 1909 | 27 April 1904 13 November 1908 29 April 1910 |
| 3 | Ada Watson | Chris Watson Chris Watson John Christian Watson , commonly known as Chris Watson, Australian politician, was the third Prime Minister of Australia... | 27 April 1904 | 18 August 1904 |
| 4 | Flora Reid Flora Reid Dame Florence "Flora" Reid GBE was the wife of the Prime Minister of Australia Sir George Reid.-Biodata:... | George Reid George Reid (Australian politician) Sir George Houstoun Reid, GCB, GCMG, KC was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales and the fourth Prime Minister of Australia.... | 18 August 1904 | 5 July 1905 |
| 5 | Margaret Fisher | Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher was an Australian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister on three separate occasions. Fisher's 1910-13 Labor ministry completed a vast legislative programme which made him, along with Protectionist Alfred Deakin, the founder of the statutory structure of the new nation... | 13 November 1908 29 April 1910 17 September 1914 | 2 June 1909 24 June 1913 27 October 1915 |
| 6 | Mary Cook | Joseph Cook Joseph Cook Sir Joseph Cook, GCMG was an Australian politician and the sixth Prime Minister of Australia. Born as Joseph Cooke and working in the coal mines of Silverdale, Staffordshire during his early life, he emigrated to Lithgow, New South Wales during the late 1880s, and became General-Secretary of the... | 24 June 1913 | 17 September 1914 |
| 7 | (Dame) Mary Hughes Mary Hughes Dame Mary Hughes GBE was the second wife of Billy Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia 1915-1923.-Personal life:... | Billy Hughes Billy Hughes William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923.... | 27 October 1915 | 9 February 1923 |
| 8 | Ethel Bruce | Stanley Bruce Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC , was an Australian politician and diplomat, and the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the second Australian granted an hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, but the first whose peerage was formally created... | 9 February 1923 | 22 October 1929 |
| 9 | Sarah Scullin | James Scullin James Scullin James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was... | 22 October 1929 | 6 January 1932 |
| 10 | (Dame) Enid Lyons Enid Lyons Dame Enid Muriel Lyons, AD, GBE was an Australian politician and the first woman to be elected to the Australian House of Representatives as well as the first woman appointed to the federal Cabinet... | Joseph Lyons Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931... | 6 January 1932 | 7 April 1939 |
| 11 | Lady Page (Ethel Page) | Sir Earle Page Earle Page Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page, GCMG, CH was the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, and is to date the second-longest serving federal parliamentarian in Australian history, with 41 years, 361 days in Parliament.-Early life:... | 7 April 1939 | 26 April 1939 |
| 12 | (Dame) Pattie Menzies Pattie Menzies Dame Pattie Maie Menzies GBE was the wife of Australia’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies.-Biography:... | (Sir) Robert Menzies Robert Menzies Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia.... | 26 April 1939 19 December 1949 | 28 August 1941 26 January 1966 |
| 13 | Ilma Fadden | Arthur Fadden Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:... | 28 August 1941 | 7 October 1941 |
| 14 | Elsie Curtin | John Curtin John Curtin John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority... | 7 October 1941 | 5 July 1945 |
| 15 | Vera Forde | Frank Forde Frank Forde Francis Michael Forde PC was an Australian politician and the 15th Prime Minister of Australia. He was the shortest serving Prime Minister in Australia's history, being in office for only eight days.-Early life:... | 6 July 1945 | 13 July 1945 |
| 16 | Elizabeth Chifley | Ben Chifley Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949... | 13 July 1945 | 19 December 1949 |
| 17 | Zara Holt Zara Bate Dame Zara Kate Bate DBE was an Australian fashion designer and wife of the Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt.... | Harold Holt Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years... | 26 January 1966 | 19 December 1967 |
| 18 | None | John McEwen John McEwen Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia... | 19 December 1967 | 10 January 1968 |
| 19 | Bettina Gorton Bettina Gorton Bettina Gorton, Lady Gorton was the American-born wife of John Gorton, Prime Minister of Australia 1968-71.Bettina Edith Brown was born in Bangor, Maine, USA, in about 1915. Her father Arthur A. Brown was the president of an American bank in Cuba. He died when she was two years old and her... | John Gorton John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:... | 10 January 1968 | 10 March 1971 |
| 20 | Sonia McMahon Sonia McMahon Sonia McMahon, known from 1977 as Lady McMahon , was the wife of Sir William McMahon, Prime Minister of Australia, and a philanthropist and Sydney socialite.-Biography:... | William McMahon William McMahon Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia... | 10 March 1971 | 5 December 1972 |
| 21 | Margaret Whitlam Margaret Whitlam Margaret Whitlam AO is a prominent Australian personality and the wife of former Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam... | Gough Whitlam Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the... | 5 December 1972 | 11 November 1975 |
| 22 | Tamie Fraser Tamie Fraser Tamie Fraser AO is the wife of Malcolm Fraser, who held office as Prime Minister of Australia between 1975 and 1983. -Early life:... | Malcolm Fraser Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role... | 11 November 1975 | 11 March 1983 |
| 23 | Hazel Hawke Hazel Hawke Hazel Hawke, AO is the former wife of Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia 1983–91. They divorced after he left the prime ministership. She worked in social policy areas, and was an excellent amateur pianist and a patron of the arts... | Bob Hawke Bob Hawke Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister.... | 11 March 1983 | 20 December 1991 |
| 24 | Annita Keating Annita van Iersel Annita Keating van Iersel is the estranged Dutch-born wife of Paul Keating, the former Prime Minister of Australia.Born as Anna Johanna Maria van Iersel to a devout Roman Catholic family in Oisterwijk, Noord Brabant, Netherlands, she studied languages in Paris and London. She worked at KLM as a... | Paul Keating Paul Keating Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election... | 20 December 1991 | 11 March 1996 |
| 25 | Janette Howard Janette Howard Janette Howard is the wife of John Howard, who was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:Alison Janette Parker was born in Kingsford, a working-class suburb of Sydney in 1944. Her father was an engineer with the New South Wales railways. The family later moved to Vaucluse... | John Howard John Howard John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies.... | 11 March 1996 | 3 December 2007 |
| 26 | Thérèse Rein Thérèse Rein Thérèse Rein is an Australian entrepreneur and founder of Ingeus, an international employment and business psychology services company. Ingeus operates from more than 150 locations across the UK, Australia, France, Switzerland, Germany, Korea, Sweden, Poland, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and New... | Kevin Rudd Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010... | 3 December 2007 | 24 June 2010 |
| 27 | Tim Mathieson Tim Mathieson Timothy Raymond Mathieson is an Australian real estate agent and partner of Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He entered the public spotlight in 2006 when they became partners. Gillard was Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party at the time.... | Julia Gillard Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved... | 24 June 2010 | Incumbent |