William Patrick Ludwig (25 May 1934 – 11 April 2022) was an Australian trade union official, who served as National President of the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

(AWU), with a brief interruption, from 1989 to 2017. He served two terms from 1989 until 1997 and from 2001 until 2017. He also served as Queensland Branch Secretary Queensland Branch Secretary of the

(AWU), from 1988 to 2013.

Biography

Ludwig was born in

Longreach, Queensland Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisford s ...

on 25 May 1934, and was educated at

Marist College Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 2003, it became a secular in ...

in the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

suburb of Ashgrove. He began his working life as a shearer and remained in the pastoral industry until 1971 when he became an employee of the AWU. In 1982 Ludwig was elected as the South Western District Secretary of the Queensland Branch of the AWU, a position he held until he was elected as the Secretary of the Queensland Branch in 1988. Ludwig was head of the powerful Labor Forum or AWU Faction which dominates the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

branch of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

. Ludwig was a member of the ALP National Executive and Vice President of the ALP's Queensland Branch. His son Joseph Ludwig was an Barrister and ALP

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from Queensland and was Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Minister Assisting on Queensland Flood Recovery. In the

1997 Australia Day Honours The 1997 Australia Day Honours are appointments Australian honours system, to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1997 by the Governor General of Australia, Will ...

he was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(OAM) for "service to Industrial Relations through The Australian Workers' Union" and in 2001 he was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

References

External links

Profile
on the AWU National Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig, Bill 1934 births 2022 deaths Australian trade unionists Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian people of German descent Recipients of the Centenary Medal People from Queensland