Paul John Keating is an Australian former politician who served as the 24th Prime Minister of Australia from December 1991 to March 1996.
Born on 18 January 1944 at St Margaret’s Hospital in Darlinghurst, Sydney, he grew up in the working-class suburb of Bankstown in a modest family home.
The eldest child of Matthew John “Matt” Keating, a boilermaker and trade unionist of Irish descent who worked for the New South Wales Government Railways, and Minnie Therese “Min” Chapman, he was raised in a strongly Catholic, Labor-oriented household.
Keating left school at the age of 14 or 15 after attending De La Salle College in Bankstown, worked as a pay clerk, and became involved in Labor Party youth organisations before entering federal politics.
Siblings
Paul is the first of four children and has three younger siblings, namely Anne Keating, Greg Keating, and Lyn Keating.
His sister Anne is a company director and businesswoman, while his younger brother Greg is a lawyer who was appointed as a judge of the NSW District Court.
Career
Keating joined the Australian Labor Party as a teenager and rose quickly through its ranks.
He was elected to the House of Representatives as the Member for Blaxland in 1969 at the age of 25.
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In 1975 he briefly served as Minister for Northern Australia in the Whitlam government, becoming the youngest federal minister at the time.
After Labor’s return to power in 1983 he was appointed Treasurer under Prime Minister Bob Hawke, a role he held until 1991.
In that position he oversaw major economic reforms, including the floating of the Australian dollar, deregulation of the financial system, the introduction of a capital gains tax, and the establishment of compulsory superannuation.
He also served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1990.
In December 1991 he successfully challenged Hawke for the leadership and became Prime Minister.
During his term he advanced native title legislation following the High Court’s Mabo decision, promoted Aboriginal reconciliation, strengthened Australia’s engagement with Asia through APEC, and pursued republican and vocational education reforms.
After Labor’s defeat in the 1996 election he resigned from parliament and later worked as a company director, senior adviser to the investment bank Lazard, and visiting professor of public policy.
Accolades
During his time as Treasurer, Keating was named Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year in 1984, an honour that led Australians to dub him the “World’s Greatest Treasurer.”
He has received honorary doctorates in law from Keio University in Tokyo, the National University of Singapore, the University of New South Wales, and Macquarie University.
In 1997 he declined appointment as a Companion of the Order of Australia, the honour routinely offered to former prime ministers, stating that the position of prime minister itself provided sufficient public recognition and that such awards should be reserved for those whose community work went largely unnoticed.
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