HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Simon Findlay Crean (born 26 February 1949) is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was the
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
for Hotham from 1990 to 2013, representing the Labor Party, and served as a
Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘ prime minister� ...
in the Hawke, Keating,
Rudd ''Scardinius'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for individual species, particularly the common rudd (''S. erythrophthalmus''). T ...
and Gillard Governments. He was the
Leader of the Labor Party Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...
and
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
from November 2001 to December 2003. Crean was born in
Melbourne, Victoria 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 met ...
. His father, Frank Crean, 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 ...
under
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 h ...
. After studying law and economics 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 ...
, Crean joined the
trade union movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...
, becoming General Secretary of the Storemen and Packers' Union in 1979. He became Vice President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in 1981, and in 1985 was elected as ACTU President, succeeding Cliff Dolan. Crean stood down from this role upon his election to the
Australian Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...
at the 1990 election, and immediately entered the
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
as Minister for Science and Technology. He served in various roles until Labor was defeated at the 1996 election. Following Labor's 1998 election defeat, Crean was elected Deputy Leader of the Labor Party, replacing Gareth Evans. He was later elected unopposed to succeed
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 ...
as Leader of the Labor Party following further defeat at the 2001 election, becoming Leader of the Opposition. Despite initial enthusiasm for his leadership, Crean quickly struggled in opinion polling, and in June 2003, Beazley challenged him for the leadership. Although Crean won comfortably, speculation about his leadership only intensified, and in November 2003 he announced that he would resign, making Crean the first Leader of the Labor Party never to face a federal election; he was replaced by his Shadow Treasurer,
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 ...
. Despite losing the leadership, Crean remained a senior figure within the Labor Party, and returned to the Cabinet as Minister for Trade when the Labor won the 2007 election. Crean supported
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
in her leadership challenge to
Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
in June 2010, and remained in the Cabinet after she was successful. Although he continued to support Gillard through the leadership spill in February 2012, in March 2013 he announced that he was switching support to Rudd, sparking another leadership spill; Gillard sacked him from the Cabinet in response. When Rudd eventually did return as Prime Minister at the leadership spill in June 2013, Crean ran unsuccessfully to return to the role of Deputy Leader; he subsequently announced his decision to retire from politics at the 2013 election.


Early life and education

Crean was born in Melbourne, the son of Frank Crean, a federal Labor MP from 1951 to 1977, who was both
Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...
and
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, ...
in the Whitlam Government from 1972 to 1975. One of his two brothers,
David Crean David Mackenzie Crean (born 21 November 1950, Melbourne) is a former Labor member of the Parliament of Tasmania. He is the son of former Deputy Prime Minister Frank Crean and brother to former Australian federal opposition leader Simon Crean. ...
, was formerly a Member of the Tasmanian Parliament. His other brother,
Stephen Crean Stephen Lamont Crean (12 July 1947August 1985) was an Australian public servant, who was the son of Frank Crean and brother of Simon and David Crean, all politicians. Crean came to national attention in Australia due to his 1985 disappearance whi ...
, died while skiing alone at Charlotte Pass, New South Wales in 1985, aged 38; his body was not found for two years. Crean was educated at
Melbourne High School Melbourne High School is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1905, the school caters for boys from Year 9 ...
, before going on to
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 ...
where he graduated with a
Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; th ...
and
Bachelor of Laws 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 Ch ...
.


Trade unionist

Following his graduation from Monash University, Crean worked in several roles with various trade unions, before becoming an official within the Storeman and Packers Union (SPU). In 1977, his father, Frank Crean, retired from Federal politics. Simon contested the Labor preselection for his father's comfortably safe seat of Melbourne Ports, but lost to former Victorian Labor Leader Clyde Holding, who went on to win the seat. In 1979, Crean was elected General Secretary of the SPU, which entitled him to a seat on the board of the
Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and l ...
(ACTU). In 1981, Crean was elected as ACTU Vice President, before in 1985 winning election as ACTU President. In this role, he played a key role in negotiating numerous agreements on wages and other industrial issues as part of the Prices and Incomes Accord with the
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
of
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
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 ...
, himself a former ACTU President.


Political career


Hawke and Keating Governments

Ahead of the 1990 election, Crean was easily selected as the Labor candidate for the safe seat of Hotham; he was elected to Parliament on 24 March, and immediately entered the Cabinet as Minister for Science and Technology. He became Minister for Primary Industries and Energy in 1991, retaining this job when
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 ...
replaced
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 ...
as Prime Minister in December 1991. After Labor's victory at the 1993 election, Keating moved Crean to become Minister for Employment, Education and Training, a role he would hold until 1996.


Opposition

After the Labor Party was heavily defeated at the 1996 election, Crean chose to contest the deputy leadership, but was defeated by Gareth Evans by 42 votes to 37. He joined the Shadow Cabinet, and after Evans retired from politics following Labor's 1998 election defeat, Crean was easily elected to replace him, becoming Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Treasurer. In January 2001, Crean was awarded the
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 g ...
. In November 2001, following Labor's third consecutive election defeat, Crean was elected unopposed to replace
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 ...
as Leader of the Labor Party, becoming
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
;
Jenny Macklin Jennifer Louise Macklin (born 29 December 1953) is an Australian former politician. She was elected to federal parliament at the 1996 federal election and served as the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2001 to 2006, und ...
was elected as his deputy, also unopposed. On 4 February 2003, Crean led the Labor Party to condemn Prime Minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
's decision to commit Australian troops to the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
. Throughout most of 2003, poor opinion polling led to speculation of a leadership challenge against Crean; on 16 June 2003, Crean called a leadership spill intending to put an end to the leadership tensions, winning against Kim Beazley by 58 votes to 34. This failed to stop Crean losing even further ground to Howard in opinion polls as preferred Prime Minister, and on 28 November 2003, Crean announced that he would resign as Leader of the Labor Party, stating that he felt he no longer had the confidence of his colleagues; this made him the first Labor Leader not to contest a federal election since 1916. On 2 December, Shadow Treasurer
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 ...
defeated Kim Beazley in a ballot by 47 votes to 45 to replace Crean; Latham subsequently appointed Crean immediately as Shadow Treasurer. After Labor suffered a fourth consecutive defeat at the 2004 election, Crean resigned from his Shadow Treasurer position; he initially intended to resign from the Shadow Cabinet entirely, but at Latham's insistence, he accepted the role of Shadow Minister for Trade. Crean retained this position when Beazley returned to the leadership in January 2005. However, in a reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet in June 2005, Crean was demoted to Shadow Minister for Regional Development. He then faced a pre-selection challenge for his seat of Hotham from Martin Pakula, a member of his former union, the SPU, a move which Crean publicly blamed on Beazley,
Hong Lim Hong Lim (; born 11 November 1950) is an Australian politician. He was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 2018, representing the seat of Clayton until 2014 and Clarinda from 2014 to his retirement in 2018. He represen ...
, and the
Labor Right The Labor Right, also known as Modern Labor, is a political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) at the national level that is characterised by being more economically conservative and, in some cases, more socially conservative. The Labor ...
. Beazley refused to publicly support either candidate, but several frontbenchers, including
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
, supported Crean. This helped Crean to comfortably win the pre-selection for his seat; Crean singled out Senator
Stephen Conroy Stephen Michael Conroy (born 18 January 1963) is an Australian former politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Senate from 1996 to 2016, representing the state of Victoria. He served as a minister in the Rudd and Gillard go ...
for his part in the move against him, describing his front-bench colleague as "venal" and "one of the most disloyal people I've ever worked with in my life". Following the replacement of Kim Beazley by
Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
as leader in December 2006, Rudd reappointed Crean as Shadow Minister for Trade.


Rudd and Gillard Governments

After Labor's victory at the 2007 election, new Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
appointed Crean to the Cabinet as Minister for Trade. In this role, Crean visited
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
and
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
to pursue Australia's trade and economic interests at a range of ministerial and other high-level meetings. Crean also attended the
APEC The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade and the
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...
Roundtable on Sustainable Development on behalf of the
Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...
. Crean also co-chaired the 8th Joint Trade and Economic Cooperation Committee with the Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment
Võ Hồng Phúc Võ Hồng Phúc (born October 19, 1945 in Vinh town, Nghệ An Province, Vietnam) is a retired Senior Vietnamese communist politician who was the Minister of Planning and Investment in Vietnam from 2002 to 2011. He graduated in 1968 from the ...
in
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...
, leading to an improvement in the trading relationship between Australia and Vietnam. Following
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
's election unopposed as Prime Minister in June 2010, Crean was appointed to replace Gillard in the role of Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, with Stephen Smith taking over as Minister for Trade. After the 2010 election, Gillard reshuffled the Cabinet and appointed Crean as Minister for the Arts and Minister for Regional Development and Local Government. On 21 March 2013, following significant leadership tensions arising from poor opinion polling, Crean called for Gillard to spill the leadership, with the aim of encouraging Rudd to challenge for the position of Prime Minister. This marked a change in Crean's position; he had long been a committed supporter of Gillard. Crean said he would challenge
Wayne Swan Wayne Maxwell Swan (born 30 June 1954), often colloquially referred to as Swanny, is an Australian politician who is National President of the Labor Party. He was previously the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Deputy Leader of the Labor ...
for the role of Deputy Leader, if Rudd ran for the leadership. However, Rudd declined to run for the leadership, leaving Gillard to retain the leadership unopposed. Gillard quickly sacked Crean from the Cabinet, expressing publicly her disappointment at his "disloyalty" to her. Before his sacking, Crean had been one of the few federal politicians to have never spent a day on the
backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of th ...
. After Rudd did eventually replace Gillard as Prime Minister in June 2013, Crean ran for the position of Deputy Leader but was defeated by
Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...
by 61 votes to 38. Crean subsequently announced he would retire from politics at the 2013 election. Crean retired as the first person to serve as a Cabinet Minister under four different Labor Prime Ministers (in Crean's case, Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard) since
Jack Beasley John Albert Beasley (9 November 1895 – 2 September 1949) was an Australian politician who was a member of the House of Representatives from 1928 to 1946. He served in the Australian War Cabinet from 1941 to 1946, and was a government minist ...
(who served under James Scullin,
John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...
,
Frank Forde Francis Michael Forde (18 July 189028 January 1983) was an Australian politician who served as prime minister of Australia from 6 to 13 July 1945. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1932 to 1946. He served as pri ...
and
Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1945, follow ...
).


Career after politics

In October 2014, Crean was elected chairman of the Australian Livestock Exporters Council. He was re-elected for a second term in 2016.


Personal life

Crean is married and has two grown up children. He is a supporter and patron of the
North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Kangaroos also ...
. https://www.nmfc.com.au/club/history/life-members


See also

* Fourth Hawke Ministry * First Keating Ministry * Second Keating Ministry * First Rudd Ministry * First Gillard Ministry * Second Gillard Ministry


References


Further reading

* Lyle Allan (2002), 'ALP Modernisation, Ethnic Branch Stacking, Factionalism and the Law,' in ''People and Place'', Vol.10, No.4, pp. 50–58 *
Ross McMullin Ross McMullin (born 1952) is an Australian historian who has written a number of books on political and social history, as well as several biographies. McMullin was educated at the University of Melbourne, where he wrote his Master of Arts thes ...
(1992), ''The Light on the Hill. The Australian Labor Party 1891–1991'', Oxford University Press, South Melbourne (Victoria),


External links

*
Australian Trade Union Archives biographical entry




  {{DEFAULTSORT:Crean, Simon 1949 births Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Right politicians Australian Leaders of the Opposition Australian people of Irish descent Gillard Government Government ministers of Australia Living people Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Hotham Members of the Cabinet of Australia Monash Law School alumni Politicians from Melbourne Rudd Government Trade unionists from Melbourne People educated at Melbourne High School Recipients of the Centenary Medal Leaders of the Australian Labor Party 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians