Bjelke-Petersen is the name of an Australian family of

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

descent. The common ancestors of the Australian family are Georg Peter Bjelke-Petersen (born c. 1845), a

farmer and master-builder, and his wife Caroline Vilhelmine (maiden name Hansen) (born c. 1845). They came to Australia with their children in 1891. Born just Petersen, Georg hyphenated his name with the Danish word for wodden beam, some time in the 1860s.

Politics

The Bjelke-Petersens have influenced politics in

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 , establishe ...

, at both state and Commonwealth levels, for sixty years. * Sir

Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005), known as Joh Bjelke-Petersen, was a conservative Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, during ...

was a farmer and later

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

between 1968 and 1987; He was the member for

Nanango Nanango is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nanango had a population of 3,599 people. Geography Nanango is situated north-west of the state capital, Brisbane, at the junc ...

from 1946 to 1950 and for Barambah from 1950 to 1987. He was Georg Peter Bjelke-Petersen's grandson. * Florence Bjelke-Petersen, Joh Belke-Petersen's wife, represented Queensland in the Australian Senate between 1981 and 1993 serving as Deputy Leader of the

National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an List of political parties in Australia, Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Au ...

in the Senate between 1985 and 1990; * John Bjelke-Petersen, a son of Joh and Flo Bjelke-Petersen, was the National Party candidate for the

Division of Fisher The Division of Fisher is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. Geography Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australi ...

in the 1996 federal election, losing to Liberal MP Peter Slipper. He was preselected on 3 November 2005 as the National Party candidate in the seat of Nanango at the 2006 state election. He lost the election to independent member, Dorothy Pratt. He also stood unsuccessfully for the LNP at the 2009 state election and was again defeated by Pratt (independent). He contested the

Division of Maranoa The Division of Maranoa is an Australian electoral division in Queensland. Maranoa extends across the Southern Outback and is socially conservative. In the 2016 and 2019 federal elections, Pauline Hanson's One Nation finished ahead of Labor, ...

on behalf of the

Palmer United Party The United Australia Party (UAP), formerly known as Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and the Palmer United Party (PUP), is a currently deregistered Australian political party formed by mining magnate Clive Palmer in April 2013. The party ...

at the 2013 federal election, and was defeated by Bruce Scott of the Liberal National Party. At the 2015 state election, John Bjelke-Petersen contested the seat of Callide, again on behalf of the Palmer United Party.

Other pursuits

* Hans Bjelke-Petersen (1872–1964) founded the Bjelke-Petersen School of

Physical Culture Physical culture, also known as Body culture, is a health and strength training movement that originated during the 19th century in Germany, the UK and the US. Origins The physical culture movement in the United States during the 19th century ...

in 1892 – as of 2005, there were 180 associated clubs throughout Australia. He was Georg Peter Bjelke-Petersen's son. *

Marie Bjelke Petersen Marie Caroline Bjelke Petersen (23 December 1874 – 11 October 1969) was a Danish-Australian novelist and physical culture teacher. She wrote nine popular romance novels between 1917 and 1937. Her novels were set in Australia, mostly in rural ...

(1874–1969) was an Australian novelist. Note the lack of hyphen in her version of this name. She was Georg Peter Bjelke-Petersen's daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjelke-Petersen Danish families Swedish families Australian people of Scandinavian descent Australian people of Danish descent Australian people of Swedish descent Australian families Political families of Australia People from Queensland