Robert George Halverson, (22 October 1937 – 9 February 2016) was an Australian politician, air force officer and diplomat. He was a member of 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 1984 to 1998, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He was

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

from 1996 to 1998, and subsequently served as Ambassador to Ireland from 1998 to 2003.

Early life

Halverson was born on 22 October 1937 in

Springvale, Victoria Springvale ( Boonwurrung: ''Monite'') is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Springvale recorded a population of 2 ...

. He was the son of Elizabeth Gretta (née Ordner) and Herbert Martinius Halverson. His father worked as an electrician at a meatworks in Footscray. His paternal grandfather Bendik Halverson was a Norwegian sailor who arrived in Australia in the 1870s. Halverson was educated at Geelong Road Primary School and Footscray Technical College. At the age of 16, as an air force cadet, he was one of four

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

members chosen to fly to England and meet Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. He left school in 1953 and began an apprenticeship as an industrial chemist.

Air force career

Halverson served in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) from 1956 to 1981, attaining the rank of

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

. He enlisted as an

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

, but was selected to join the

Officer Cadet School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Typi ...

where he topped his year. His first posting was to

RAAF Base Townsville RAAF Base Townsville (formerly RAAF Base Garbutt) is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air base located in , west of Townsville in Queensland, Australia. It is the headquarters for No. 1 Wing Australian Air Force Cadets and, along with L ...

, where an explosion left him deaf in one ear and ended his ambitions to become a pilot. He was subsequently transferred back to Melbourne where he worked in supply and equipment. In 1966, Halverson moved to Washington, D.C., in connection with the RAAF's purchase of

F-111 The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included ground attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons ca ...

fighter jets. He returned to Australia but moved overseas again in 1976, when he was seconded to the British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

RAF Support Command Support Command was a command of the Royal Air Force between 1973 and 1994. The headquarters was located at RAF Brampton in Cambridgeshire. History It was formed on 31 August 1973 by the renaming of RAF Maintenance Command,

for three years. He was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1978. Halverson retired from the RAAF in 1981.

Politics

Halverson was elected to federal parliament at the 1984 federal election, winning the

Division of Casey The Division of Casey is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was created in 1969 and is named for Richard Casey, who was Governor-General of Australia 1965–69. The division is located in the outer easte ...

for the

. He attracted attention in 1989 when he referred to government MP

Elizabeth Harvey Elizabeth Robyn Harvey (born 19 October 1946) is an Australian politician. She was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1987 to 1990. Harvey was born in Adelaide on 19 October 1946. She completed a d ...

as "baby" during

question time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...

in the House of Representatives. He refused Harvey's call for an apology, stating that it was a gender-neutral term and was not sexist. In 1990, Halverson was appointed Opposition Whip in the House of Representatives under the new party leader

John Hewson John Robert Hewson AM (born 28 October 1946) is an Australian former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1990 to 1994. He led the Liberal-National Coalition to defeat at the 1993 Australian federal election. Hewson was ...

. He was stripped of the position when his relationship with Hewson broke down after the 1993 election defeat, but regained it in May 1994 when

Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United King ...

became leader. He subsequently assumed the title Chief Opposition Whip. After the Coalition's victory at the 1996 federal election, Halverson was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. He resigned the position in March 1998 as the Howard government became frustrated at his impartiality in enforcing discipline on both Government and opposition MPs and allowing supplementary questioning of ministers when answers were evasive. He usually wore the Speaker's traditional gown, but without the wig.

Later life

Halverson retired from politics at the 1998 election and was appointed the Australian Ambassador to Ireland and the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, which he remained until 2003 when he was succeeded by John Herron. He died of cancer in 2016.

References

1937 births 2016 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Casey Members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Centenary Medal Royal Australian Air Force officers Ambassadors of Australia to Ireland Speakers of the Australian House of Representatives Ambassadors of Australia to the Holy See 20th-century Australian politicians Australian people of Norwegian descent People from Footscray, Victoria {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub