Paul John Keating was born in Bankstown, Sydney in 1944. Educated at De La Salle College (Bankstown), Belmore and Sydney Technical Colleges, he then worked for the Sydney City Council, a Hong Kong trading company and the NSW State Electricity Commission. In the early 1960s, he was Manager of the rock band 'The Ramrods'.

Keating joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) at the age of 15 and in 1966 became President of the NSW Youth Council, the forerunner to Young Labor. He was also Research Officer and Industrial Advocate for the Federated Municipal and Shire Council Employees' Union of Australia (1968-69).

In 1969 Paul Keating was elected to the House of Representatives as Member for Blaxland (NSW) and held the seat through the next eleven general elections.

He was appointed Minister for Northern Australia in the last few weeks of the Whitlam Government (October-November 1975). He was subsequently a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry (1976-83) and its spokesman on agriculture (1976), minerals and energy (1976-80, including national development from 1977), Northern Australia (1980), resources and energy (1980-83) and, finally, Shadow Treasurer (1983). In this period he also served on Parliamentary Committees relating to Pecuniary Interests of Members of Parliament (1974-75) and the New Parliament House (1975-83), and was NSW State President of the ALP (1979-83) and a member of the Parliamentary Retiring Allowances Trust (1980-83).

In the Hawke Government, Keating became Treasurer (1983-91) and, later, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Commonwealth-State Relations (1990-91). Considered a mixture of 'old and new Labor', he had a significant influence on the Australian financial system and ALP thinking at the time (1). Keating resigned from the Ministry in June 1991, after being unsuccessful in a ballot for the Prime Ministership. However, he succeeded R J (Bob) Hawke as Prime Minister and Leader of the federal Labor Party on 20 December 1991.

As Prime Minister (1991-96), Keating continued to introduce political, economic and social changes which dominated Australia throughout the 1990s. He promoted Aboriginal native title and reconciliation, supported efforts to make Australia a republic and made several important visits overseas. His Government was re-elected in 1993, but was resoundingly defeated at the general election of March 1996. Keating relinquished the ALP leadership and resigned from Parliament in April 1996.

Since leaving federal politics, Keating has held various appointments, including Director of Keating Associates, Visiting Professor in Public Policy at the University of New South Wales and as a member of the NSW Board of Architects. He was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws for his work in the Asia-Pacific region by Keio University, Tokyo in May 1995, and published his book 'Engagement: Australia faces the Asia-Pacific’ in 2000.

Publications

Keating, Paul, Engagement : Australia faces the Asia-Pacific / Paul Keating Macmillan, Sydney : 2000

End notes

(1) Grattan, Michelle, ed, Australian Prime Ministers, p.416

Sources

Hon Paul Keating Official Website

http://www.paulkeating.net.au, accessed 13 November 2009

Who's Who in Australia 2001 and 2003

Day, David, 'Paul John Keating' in M Grattan (ed), Australian Prime Ministers (New Holland, 2000), pp.408-435

Parliamentary Handbook, 26th ed (1993) and 27th ed (1996)

Carew, Edna, Keating: a biography (Allen & Unwin, 1988)

Unregistered agencies associated with person

1968 - 1969: Federated Municipal and Shire Council Employees Union of Australia - Research Officer and Industrial Advocate

1979 - 1983: Australian Labor Party (NSW) - President 1990 - 1991: Federal Australian Labor Party - Deputy Leader

1991 - 1996: Federal Australian Labor Party - Leader