Lionel Frost Bowen, AC (28 December 1922 – 1 April 2012) was an Australian politician and senior Labor Party figure, serving in the ministries of

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

and

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...

. He was

Deputy Prime Minister of Australia The deputy prime minister of Australia is the deputy chief executive and the second highest ranking officer of the Australian Government. The office of deputy prime minister was officially created as a ministerial portfolio in 1968, althoug ...

from 1983 to 1990.

Personal life

Bowen was born in the Sydney suburb of Ultimo. His father left the family when Bowen was aged 10 years and Bowen's mother looked after her invalid brother and elderly mother, while working as a cleaner. Bowen was educated at Cleveland Street public school,

Marcellin College Randwick , motto_translation = The Eternal, not the Transitory , established = , type = Independent single-sex secondary day school , gender = Boys , denomination = Roman Catholicism , religious_affiliation = Marist Brothers , affiliations = Asso ...

and

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

where he graduated with a

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1946 and became a solicitor. He served in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

from 1941 to 1945, reaching the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

. Bowen and his wife, Claire, married in 1953 and had three daughters and five sons. He lived in the same home in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

for 73 years. His son, Tony, was a mayor of the

City of Randwick The City of Randwick is a local government area in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1859, Randwick is the second-oldest local government area in New South Wales, after the City of Sydney. It comprises an ...

Political career

Bowen was elected to Randwick Council and became Mayor in 1948. He served in the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

from 1962 to 1969, representing Randwick, before being elected to the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

in 1969, to the seat of Kingsford Smith in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. From 1972 to 1975, he served successively as Minister for Manufacturing Industry,

Special Minister of State The Special Minister of State (SMOS) in the Government of Australia is a position currently held by Don Farrell since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022. The minister is responsible for various parliamentary, electo ...

and

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a Ministry (government department), ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having ...

in the Whitlam cabinet. Bowen played a relatively quiet role in politics, preferring to work behind the scenes. A significant achievement came when he served as acting education minister in the Whitlam government (during the illness and hospitalization of incumbent education minister Kim Beazley Senior), when he managed to split the opposition and win National Party support in the Senate for needs-based funding for non-government schools. When Whitlam resigned as Labor leader after his defeat at the 1977 election, Bowen contested the party leadership but was defeated by

Bill Hayden William George Hayden (born 23 January 1933) is an Australian politician who served as the 21st governor-general of Australia from 1989 to 1996. He was Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1977 to 1983, and served as ...

and became Deputy Leader. He retained this position when

became Leader in February 1983. When Hawke won the March 1983 election, Bowen became

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and Minister for Trade in the first Hawke Ministry. In July 1983, he was appointed

Vice-President of the Executive Council The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executiv ...

and in the second Hawke ministry, he became

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, losing the Trade portfolio. In 1988, Bowen sponsored four

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

s to reform the

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the ...

(see

1988 Australian referendum The 1988 Australian referendum was held on 3 September 1988. It contained four referendum questions, none of which passed. __NOTOC__ Results in detail Parliamentary Terms :''This section is an excerpt from 1988 Australian referendum (Parliament ...

), but all were defeated. He retired from federal politics prior to the March 1990 election, and was succeeded as Deputy Prime Minister by

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...

Post political career

Bowen served as Chairman of the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

between 1990 and 1995 and shared a strong interest in horseracing. In 1990, he was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

, and in 1991, he was appointed a

Companion 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 ...

"in recognition of service to the community and politics." In 2001, he received a

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 ...

. Bowen died from pneumonia on 1 April 2012 after years afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. He was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

on 11 April 2012.

Legacy

The

Family Court of Australia The Family Court of Australia was a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters, such as divorce applications, parenting disputes, and the division of property when a couple separate. Together with the Fede ...

and the

Federal Magistrates Court The Federal Circuit Court of Australia, formerly known as the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Service, was an Australian court with jurisdiction over matters broadly relating to family law and child support, ad ...

are located in the Lionel Bowen Building in

Goulburn Street Goulburn Street is a street in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Goulburn Street is in the southern portion of the Sydney central business district and runs from Darling Harbour and Chinatown in the w ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. The

main library is known as the Lionel Bowen Library. Lionel Bowen Park is situated in the suburb of Mascot.

Gallery

File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F075031-0006, Bonn, BMJ, Abkommen mit Australien.jpg, Bowen with German Federal Minister of Justice Hans A. Engelhard in April 1987 File:Goulburn Street, Sydney.jpg, The Lionel Bowen Building in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Lionel 1922 births 2012 deaths 1975 Australian constitutional crisis Deputy Prime Ministers of Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Right politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Kingsford Smith Members of the Australian House of Representatives Leaders of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Cabinet of Australia Attorneys-General of Australia Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Companions of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal Australian Army personnel of World War II Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from dementia in Australia Deaths from pneumonia in New South Wales Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Mayors of Randwick Councillors of Sydney County Council Government ministers of Australia Australian Army soldiers