Living Former Prime Ministers
There are currently six living former prime ministers of Australia:
| Name | Term of office | Date of birth |
|---|---|---|
| Gough Whitlam | 1972–1975 | (1916-07-11) 11 July 1916 (age 96) |
| Malcolm Fraser | 1975–1983 | (1930-05-21) 21 May 1930 (age 82) |
| Bob Hawke | 1983–1991 | (1929-12-09) 9 December 1929 (age 82) |
| Paul Keating | 1991–1996 | (1944-01-18) 18 January 1944 (age 68) |
| John Howard | 1996–2007 | (1939-07-26) 26 July 1939 (age 73) |
| Kevin Rudd | 2007–2010 | (1957-09-21) 21 September 1957 (age 55) |
The greatest number of living former prime ministers at any one time was eight. This has occurred twice:
- Between 7 October 1941 (when John Curtin succeeded Arthur Fadden) and 18 November 1941 (when Chris Watson died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Hughes, Menzies, Page, Scullin and Watson
- Between 13 July 1945 (when Ben Chifley succeeded Frank Forde) and 30 July 1947 (when Sir Joseph Cook died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Forde, Hughes, Menzies, Page and Scullin.
Seven former prime ministers were alive between 18 November 1941 and 13 July 1945, and between 30 July 1947 and 13 June 1951.
Gough Whitlam has lived in the lifetime of every prime minister of Australia and has achieved a greater age than any other prime minister. The most recently deceased prime minister was John Gorton (1968–1971), who died on 19 May 2002.
Read more about this topic: Prime Minister Of Australia
Famous quotes containing the words living, prime and/or ministers:
“All is changed. All looks strange to me and gives me a feeling which I would rather get away from, although I know it to be the carrying out of natural laws. And I am not complaining. I am doing the same as many old people have done, I suppose, who have led an active life and suddenly find themselves living without a purpose. Oh, my heart is so full. I could write a big book on the subject of going out of this world gracefully.”
—Maria D. Brown (1827–1927)
“The prime purpose of being four is to enjoy being four—of secondary importance is to prepare for being five.”
—Jim Trelease (20th century)
“This was the Eastham famous of late years for its camp- meetings, held in a grove near by, to which thousands flock from all parts of the Bay. We conjectured that the reason for the perhaps unusual, if not unhealthful development of the religious sentiment here, was the fact that a large portion of the population are women whose husbands and sons are either abroad on the sea, or else drowned, and there is nobody but they and the ministers left behind.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)