Robert Francis Ray (born 8 April 1947) is a former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n politician who was a Labor Party

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1981 to 2008, representing the state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Biography

Early life

Ray was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, Victoria, and educated at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has ...

, Melbourne, where he graduated in arts and education. He worked as a teacher in government schools and as a taxi-driver before entering politics.

Political career

A leading member of the right-wing faction of the ALP, Ray defeated a left-wing senator, Jean Melzer, in a ballot for a place on the party's Senate ticket. This caused great bitterness in the Socialist Left faction. He was elected to the Senate at the October 1980 election, taking his seat on 1 July 1981. In the Hawke Labor government Ray was

Minister for Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

1987–88, Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs 1988–90 (with a seat in the Cabinet), and

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

1990–96. In this portfolio he strongly supported Hawke's decision to send Australian forces to support the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, despite bitter opposition from the left. After the defeat of the Keating government in 1996 election, Ray did not seek election to the Opposition Shadow Ministry, but remained a powerful figure in the Labor Party, acting as a key factional supporter of Opposition Leader

Kim Beazley Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabinet ...

1996–2001. His influence diminished when

Mark Latham Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator, currently serving as a member in the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and ...

became Leader in 2003. He did not stand for re-election at the 2007 election, which meant that his Senate term was due to expire on 30 June 2008. He formally resigned from Parliament on 5 May 2008, having spent two more days in the Senate as a member of government than as a member of the Opposition. The casual vacancy was filled by

Jacinta Collins Jacinta Mary Ann Collins (born 4 September 1962) is a former Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 1995 to 2005 and again from 2008 to 2019. She represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was the party's deputy ...

.ABC News (2008)
Tributes for retiring Senator Ray
Retrieved 5 May 2008.

References

External links

ALP biography

Former Senator Robert Ray
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Robert 1947 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Right politicians Members of the Cabinet of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Monash University alumni Australian schoolteachers Australian taxi drivers Defence ministers of Australia 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians