Late former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke noted for role in forging closer ties between Beijing and Canberra
- Hawke, a former trade union leader who served as premier from 1983 to 1991, ‘died peacefully at home’, his wife said
- He was noted for his close relationship with the Chinese government during his leadership
Former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke, one of the nation’s longest serving premiers, died on Thursday just days ahead of a federal election, the opposition Labor party said.
Hawke, 89, served from 1983 to 1991 as the country’s 23rd prime minister.
“With his passing, the labour movement salutes our greatest son … and Australians everywhere remember and honour a man who gave so much to the country and people he cared for so deeply,” Labor leader Bill Shorten said in a statement.
“The Australian people loved Bob Hawke because they knew Bob loved them, this was true to the very end,” he said.
Robert James Lee Hawke, a former trade union leader, was first elected to parliament in 1980 and was named leader of the centre-left Labor Party less than a month before a snap general election in 1983.
Voters embraced Hawke and Labor won an unlikely landslide against a conservative government led by Malcolm Fraser, who had been in power for nearly a decade. Hawke became Australia’s 23rd prime minister.