Gough Whitlam
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21st Prime Minister of Australia | |
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In office | |
2 December 1972 – 11 November 1975 | |
Came after | William McMahon |
Came before | Malcolm Fraser |
Born | 11 July 1916 Melbourne, Victoria |
Political party | Labor |
Edward Gough Whitlam (born 11 July 1916) was the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. He is the only Prime Minister to have been dismissed by the Governor-General. He was Prime Minister for three years. His government made a lot of changes compared to the previous Liberal governments.
His government did not have a majority in the Senate (the upper house of the Australian Parliament). This made it hard for Whitlam's government to make laws. In 1975 the opposition, led by Malcolm Fraser, blocked government supply in the Senate. This meant that the government had no money. This was a big crisis in Australia. In order to end the crisis the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, dismissed Whitlam and made Fraser the Prime Minister. Whitlam lost the election that was held a month later.
Whitlam is one of the most controversial people in Australia. Many people thing of him as a hero while others consider his government to have been poor.
Prime Ministers of Australia | ![]() |
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Barton | Deakin | Watson | Reid | Fisher | Cook | Hughes | Bruce | Scullin | Lyons | Page | Menzies | Fadden | Curtin | Forde | Chifley | Holt | McEwen | Gorton | McMahon | Whitlam | Fraser | Hawke | Keating | Howard |