George Georges (born George Georgouras; 15 April 1920 – 23 September 2002) was a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

senator for

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 ...

from 1968 to 1986, and independent senator from 1986 to 1987.

Early life

George Georges (born George Georgouras) was born in Darwin, Northern Territory on April 15, 1920, the son of Athanasios Georgouras and his wife Panayiota Stergoulis. His father emigrated to Australia in 1912. He was educated in Ingham and at the South Brisbane Intermediate School before enrolling at Brisbane State High School where he was the captain of the rugby union team. Georges enrolled at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

but did not complete his studies there. He later received further education at Brisbane North TAFE in business management.

Career

Georges was a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

and left-wing

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

jailed several times by the Queensland state government of

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 ...

in the 1970s and 1980s, including the SEQEB strike dispute, as a consequence of his activities in promoting what he saw as civil liberties and

workers' rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...

. In 1986 he resigned from the Labor Party to vote against the

Australia Card The Australia Card was a proposal for a national identification card for Australian citizens and resident foreigners. The proposal was made in 1985, and abandoned in 1987. History The idea for the card was raised at the national Tax Summit in 1 ...

legislation. From 15 December 1986 he served as a senate independent after quitting the ALP. He stood as an independent candidate for the Senate at the 1987 election, but failed to get re-elected, receiving 1.8% of the Queensland vote.

Legacy

Georges married Gloria Wishart in 1952 and they had two children. He died in Canberra on 23 September 2002 after a long illness.George Georges a fighter for socialist principles
GreenLeft

References

1920 births 2002 deaths Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland People educated at Brisbane State High School Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Independent members of the Parliament of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Australian people of Greek descent {{Australia-Labor-senator-stub