Desmond Keith Dans (24 November 1924 – 2 January 2014) was an Australian trade unionist and politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Council of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1971 to 1989, representing

South Metropolitan Province The South Metropolitan Province was a two-member electoral province of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in metropolitan Perth. It was one of several metropolitan seats created following the enactment of the ''Constitution Acts A ...

. He served as a minister in the government of Brian Burke. Dans was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

to Mary (née Frances) and Keith Dans. He moved to Kalgoorlie as a child, where he attended a convent school before going on to the Kalgoorlie School of Mines. Dans enlisted in the

Royal Australian Naval Reserve The Royal Australian Naval Reserve (RANR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Australian Navy in Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian co ...

in 1942, and served as a stoker aboard HMAS ''Hobart''. After the war's end, he joined the merchant marine, and became involved with the Seamen's Union. He served as state secretary of the union from 1959 to 1971. Dans was elected to parliament at the 1971 state election. He was made leader of the Labor Party in the Legislative Council in 1976, and elevated to the shadow cabinet in 1978. After Labor's victory at the 1983 state election, Dans was made Minister for Industrial Relations in the new ministry formed by Brian Burke. Following a reshuffle in December 1984, he was instead made Minister for Racing and Gaming and Minister for Tourism. Another reshuffle occurred after the 1986 election, and Dans became Minister for Works and Services, with responsibility for the

1987 America's Cup The 1987 America's Cup was the twenty-sixth challenge for the America's Cup. The American challenger ''Stars & Stripes 87'', sailed by Dennis Conner, beat the Australian defender ''Kookaburra III'', sailed by Iain Murray, in a four-race sweep ...

. He resigned from the ministry just over a month after the event's completion, and left parliament at the

1989 election The following elections occurred in the year 1989. Africa * 1989 Beninese parliamentary election * 1989 Botswana general election * 1989 Equatorial Guinean presidential election * 1989 People's Republic of the Congo parliamentary election * 19 ...

.Desmond Keith Dans
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2016.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dans, Des 1924 births 2014 deaths Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian trade unionists Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Royal Australian Navy sailors People from Kalgoorlie Military personnel from Western Australia