Paul Raymond Henderson (born 15 August 1962) is a former Australian politician who was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2007 to 2012. He has been Chancellor of

Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with a main campus in Darwin and eight satellite campuses in some metropolitan and regional areas. It was established in 2003 after the merger of Northern Territory University ...

since March 2019.

Background and early career

Henderson was born in

Croix-Chapeau Croix-Chapeau () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. History From 1953 to 1966 there was a 500-bed U.S. Army hospital in Croix-Chapeau, run by the 28th General Hospital unit,Labrude Pierre (2008) "Les hôpit ...

, France, where his father was serving with the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

. He was educated in the United Kingdom to

A-Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

and studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

through the

City and Guilds of London Institute The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

. He worked as an apprentice marine fitter in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

before emigrating to

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 ...

in 1982, where he worked as an underground fitter at the zinc mines in Rosebery,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. He moved to Darwin in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

in 1983, working as a marine fitter. In 1985 he began working for the

Northern Territory government The Government of the Northern Territory of Australia, also referred to as the Northern Territory Government, is the Australian territorial democratic administrative authority of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory wa ...

as a computer operator, was self-employed as a computer analyst in Britain from 1991 to 1992 and returned to work for the Northern Territory government in 1993.

Political career

Henderson was elected to the

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Northern Territory of Australia. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member electorates for four-year terms. The voting method f ...

in an August 1999 by-election for the Labor Party (ALP), representing the electorate of Wanguri when the previous member, John Bailey, resigned. Henderson was promoted to cabinet in 2001 after Labor won a Territory election for the first time in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

. He held the following ministries: Minister for Employment, Education and Training; Minister for Tourism; Minister for Public Employment; and Minister for Multicultural Affairs, until he became Chief Minister of the Northern Territory after the sudden resignation of

Clare Martin Clare Majella Martin (born 15 June 1952) is a former Australian journalist and politician. She was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995. She was appointed Opposition Leader in 1999, and won ...

on 26 November 2007. He became the first man to lead an ALP Government in the Territory. At the 2008 territory election, Henderson lost most of the large majority he'd inherited from Martin. Partly because new electoral boundaries had been gazetted just days before the writs were issued, most of the Labor members elected in the massive Labor landslide of

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

were unable to connect with their new constituents. Ultimately, Labor needed a paper-thin victory in Martin's old seat of Fannie Bay to retain government with 13 of 25 seats, a one-seat majority. In August 2009, Labor MLA Alison Anderson resigned from the ALP after a disagreement with Henderson's government over housing in remote indigenous areas. The opposition

Country Liberal Party The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP) is a centre-right political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In local politics it operates in a two-party system with the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It also contests federal ...

moved a

motion of no-confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

against Henderson, which was defeated by one vote after Henderson reached an agreement with Independent MLA Gerry Wood to support his government.NT Labor survives crisis of confidence

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...

, 14 August 2009. At the 2012 territory election, Henderson's government was defeated by the opposition

led by Terry Mills. On 25 January 2013, Henderson resigned from the Legislative Assembly, triggering a by-election in his electorate of Wanguri. To date, Henderson is the only ALP leader who did not serve as Leader of the Opposition. On 26 June 2013, Henderson was granted the title "

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certa ...

" for life by the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

.Mr Paul Raymond Henderson granted the title "Honourable" for life
''Commonwealth Special Gazette'' C2013G00975, S No. 75 of 2013.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Paul 1962 births Australian Labor Party members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Australian public servants Chief Ministers of the Northern Territory Living people Machinists Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Attorneys-General of the Northern Territory Treasurers of the Northern Territory People from Charente-Maritime Australian people of American descent English emigrants to Australia French emigrants to Australia 21st-century Australian politicians Officers of the Order of Australia