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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 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 ...
and Deputy Leader of the Labor Party from 2010 to 2013, and the
Treasurer of Australia The Treasurer of Australia (or Federal Treasurer) is a high ranking official and senior minister of the Crown in the Government of Australia who is the head of the Ministry of the Treasury which is responsible for government expenditure and ...
from 2007 to 2013. Swan was first elected to 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 ...
in 1993 for Lilley in
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 , established_ ...
, although he lost this seat in 1996. He regained the seat in 1998 and represented it until retiring in 2019. Following Labor's victory in 2007, Swan was appointed
Treasurer of Australia The Treasurer of Australia (or Federal Treasurer) is a high ranking official and senior minister of the Crown in the Government of Australia who is the head of the Ministry of the Treasury which is responsible for government expenditure and ...
by 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 ...
. In this position, he played a key role in Australia's response to the
Global Financial Crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...
throughout 2008 and 2009. In 2010, after
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 ...
became Prime Minister, Swan was elected unopposed as her deputy and was subsequently sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister. In 2011, Swan was named Finance Minister of the Year by '' Euromoney'' magazine, joining
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 ...
as the only Australian Treasurer to have been awarded that title. After Rudd successfully challenged Gillard for the leadership in June 2013, Swan resigned from the Cabinet.


Early life and career

Swan was born and educated in
Nambour, Queensland Nambour is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nambour had a population of 11,187 people. Geography Nambour is north of the state capital, Brisbane. The town lies in the sub ...
. He attended
Nambour State High School Nambour State College is a co-educational, state high school located in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. Established on 2 February 1953. In 2006 the school had enrolment figures of 1,367, including adult students. Previously it was called the Na ...
and graduated in 1972.
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 ...
attended the same school at the same time, though was three years younger than Swan and the two did not know each other. Swan won a Commonwealth scholarship to study Public Administration 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 ...
, where he resided at Emmanuel College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. After graduating he worked as a lecturer in the Department of Management at the
Queensland Institute of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...
. From 1978 to 1980, Swan acted as a policy adviser to Labor Leader
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 from 1983 to 1984 was an adviser to Government Ministers
Mick Young Michael Jerome Young (9 October 19368 April 1996) was an Australian politician. He rose through the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to become its National Secretary, before serving as a Labor member of the House of Representatives from the 1974 ...
and
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 cabine ...
. He later worked as the State Secretary of the
Queensland Labor Party The Queensland Labor Party (QLP) was a political party of Queensland, Australia formed in 1957 by a breakaway group of the then ruling Labor Party Government after the expulsion of Premier Vince Gair. In 1962 the party became the Queensland se ...
from 1991 to 1993.


Political career


Parliament

Swan was first elected as the Member for Lilley in the 1993 federal election, but was defeated three years later by Elizabeth Grace in what was a large defeat for Labor nationwide. In 1996, Swan donated $500–$1400 (amount disputed) to the
Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Austral ...
campaign manager in his seat of Lilley. At the time, speculation surrounded the nature of the donation. The matter was referred to the Australian Federal Police who chose to take no further action. He worked as an adviser to Labor 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 cabine ...
before contesting Lilley again in the 1998 federal election and regaining the seat.


Shadow Cabinet

Kim Beazley promoted Swan to the Shadow Cabinet in 1998. Initially serving as Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services, he became the Manager of Opposition Business in 2001. During the 2003 Labor leadership spills he was a prominent supporter of Kim Beazley, but retained his position in the Shadow Cabinet 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 the new leader. After the 2004 federal election defeat, Swan was promoted to become Shadow Treasurer. This was seen by many as a surprise, as it was rumoured that Latham was intending to appoint then-Shadow Health Minister
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 ...
to the position. It was believed that strong opposition from Labor's Right Faction had put Latham under pressure to appoint either Swan or Shadow Industrial Relations Minister Stephen Smith to the position. Early in the role, Swan worked to devise Labor's response to the Howard Government's 2006 budget, with Labor proposing tax relief for low- and middle-income earners. Swan launched his book during the same month, '' Postcode: The Splintering of a Nation''. After
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 ...
successfully challenged Kim Beazley to win the leadership of the Labor Party in December 2006, he reappointed Swan as Shadow Treasurer. In early November 2007, Swan and Rudd revisited their old high school in Nambour. Rudd gave a speech to students, in which he said that, while at school, "Wayne was very, very cool; and I was very, very not".


Treasurer

Following Labor's landslide win in the 2007 federal election, Swan was appointed
Treasurer of Australia The Treasurer of Australia (or Federal Treasurer) is a high ranking official and senior minister of the Crown in the Government of Australia who is the head of the Ministry of the Treasury which is responsible for government expenditure and ...
by Kevin Rudd on 3 December 2007. Swan's first budget concentrated on inflationary pressures in the economy, with substantially reduced spending that exceeded the A$11 billion outlaid for tax cuts. The policy debate shifted around August 2008 after mortgage lending banks in the United States began to collapse and economic activity faltered as American investments were written off. In response to the resulting global downturn, Swan coordinated an "economic security strategy" worth $10 billion in October 2008. Designed as a stimulus package and directed towards retail sales, it was largely supported by the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
. When the December quarterly growth report showed the economy contracting, he moved ahead with the Nation Building and Jobs Plan to provide government-sponsored work worth A$42 billion. This action was widely credited with preventing Australia from following much of the world into recession, as the March 2009 quarterly growth report showed that the economy had returned to growth. On 20 September 2011, Swan was named
Finance Minister of the Year Between 1981-2016, '' Euromoney'' magazine awarded the Finance Minister of the Year award. This award was given to a country Finance Minister who reformed or innovated their countries economy during their tenure. In Australia, the award is colloqui ...
by '' Euromoney'' magazine, joining
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 ...
as the only Australian Treasurer to have been conferred that title. In March 2012, Swan became the first treasurer or deputy prime minister to be ejected from the House of Representatives, after he referred to Andrew Robb, the then-opposition finance spokesperson, as "Curly", in reference to
The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
. In an essay published in ''
The Monthly ''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...
'' magazine in March 2012, Swan criticised the rising influence of vested interests, in particular paying attention to mining entrepreneurs
Clive Palmer Clive Frederick Palmer (born 26 March 1954) is an Australian businessman and politician. He has iron ore, nickel, and coal holdings. Palmer owns many businesses such as Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, the Palmer C ...
,
Gina Rinehart Georgina Hope Rinehart (née Hancock, born 9 February 1954) is an Australian mining magnate and businesswoman. Rinehart is the Executive Chairman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company founded by ...
and
Andrew Forrest John Andrew Henry Forrest (born 18 November 1961), nicknamed Twiggy, is an Australian businessman. He is best known as the former CEO (and current non-executive chairman) of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), and has other interests in the mining i ...
, and how Swan believed they are threatening Australia's egalitarian social contract. and a subsequent address to the
National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...
, In ''The Monthly'' essay he opined:
The latest example of this is the foray by Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, into
Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald' ...
, reportedly in an attempt to wield greater influence on public opinion and further her commercial interests at a time when the overwhelming economic consensus is that it's critical to use the economic weight of the resources boom to strengthen the entire economy.
Politicians have a choice: between exploiting divisions by promoting fear and appealing to the sense of fairness and decency that is the foundation of our middle-class society; between standing up for workers and kneeling down at the feet of the Gina Rineharts and the Clive Palmers.
For every Andrew Forrest who wails about high company taxes and then admits to not paying any, there are a hundred Australian businesspeople who held on to their employees and worked with government to keep the doors of Australian business open during the GFC. Despite the howling of a small minority, the vast bulk of the resources industry is in the cart for more efficient profits-based resource taxation which serves to strengthen our entire economy. The vast majority of our miners accept that they have a social obligation to pay their fair share of tax on the resources Australians own.


Deputy Prime Minister

On 23 June 2010, Deputy Prime Minister
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 ...
challenged Kevin Rudd for the leadership of the Labor Party. Realising that he no longer had enough support to retain his position, Rudd resigned the following day, allowing Gillard to be elected unopposed. Swan stood to fill the vacant position of Deputy Leader, and was also elected unopposed. He was sworn in as
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 ...
later that day. Days later, Swan attended the
G20 Toronto Summit The 2010 G20 Toronto summit was the fourth meeting of the G20 heads of state/government, to discuss the global financial system and the world economy, which took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during ...
in Gillard's place. He would regularly stand in for Gillard as Acting Prime Minister for the next three years.


Resignation and retirement

Swan resigned from his positions to return to the backbench following the return of Kevin Rudd to the leadership in June 2013. After Labor lost the 2013 federal election, he remained in Parliament and retained his seat at the 2016 federal election. On 10 February 2018, he announced that he would not contest the 2019 federal election and that he would retire from politics.


Personal Collection

Wayne Swan donated his personal collection
of records to the State Library of Queensland's John Oxley Library. The collection reflects the history of Wayne's time in public office and in particular is a record of his experience as: Secretary of the Queensland Labor Party (1991–1993) Federal MP and Member for the seat of Lilley from 1993–1996, 1998–2019, Treasurer of Australia (2007–2013), Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of the ALP (2010–2013) and National President of the Australian Labor Party (2018–present). A substantial part of the collection relates to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008–2009 and is highly significant given that Australia was a key contributor to G20 discussions. The collection includes photographs, correspondence, campaign materials and political documents. In 2021 the State Library produced
digital story with Wayne Swan
The interview by Dennis Atkins covers Wayne's time in public office and his life before and after politics as well as the Global Financial Crisis of 2008–09 and Wayne’s role in the implementation of an effective domestic stimulus response to the crisis.


Books

*'' Postcode: The Splintering of a Nation'' *''The Good Fight: Six years, two prime ministers and staring down the Great Recession''


Personal life

Swan is married to Kim and has three children. An earlier marriage, when he was 21, lasted for one year. At age 48, Swan was diagnosed with prostate cancer but has since fully recovered. He has become an advocate for the prostate cancer public awareness campaign.


See also

* First Rudd Ministry * First Gillard Ministry * Second Gillard Ministry


References


External links


Personal website32178 Wayne Swan Papers
This collection is held by John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland
Wayne Swan in conversation with Dennis Atkins digital story and oral history
Digital Story produced by the State Library of Queensland * Paul Kelly, ''Triumph and Demise: The Broken Promise of a Labor Generation'', Melbourne University Press, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140914112013/https://www.mup.com.au/items/149038 , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, Wayne 1954 births Australian agnostics Australian republicans Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Right politicians Deputy Prime Ministers of Australia Gillard Government Government ministers of Australia Living people Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Lilley Members of the Cabinet of Australia People from Nambour, Queensland Treasurers of Australia University of Queensland alumni 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians