Donald James Grimes (4 October 1937 – 20 November 2021) was an Australian politician who served as a

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

for

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

from 1974 to 1987, representing the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP). In the

Hawke government The Hawke government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1983 to 1991. The government followed the Liberal-National Coalition Fraser government and was su ...

he held ministerial office as Minister for Social Security (1983–1984) and

Minister for Community Services Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

(1984–1987). He was a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

before entering politics.

Early life

Grimes was born on 4 October 1937 in

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. He was the older of two children born to Nancy (née O'Neill) and Walter Grimes; his father worked as a fitter and turner with New South Wales Railways. He was educated at

Albury High School Albury High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school located in Albury, a city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1920, the school enrolled approximately 1,000 student ...

for three years, but after his mother's death from bowel cancer he and his sister were sent to live with an aunt in Sydney. Grimes completed his education at

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, New South Wales government run, Mixed-sex school, co-educational, Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective, secondary school, secondary day school, ...

and went on to study medicine at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

(

MBBS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

1962). He excelled at sport, playing inter-school rugby union for Fort Street, junior rugby league for

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

, and Australian football for

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

Medical career

Grimes married Margaret Schofield in 1960, with whom he had four children. He completed his clinical training at

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in the suburb of St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney, University of Technol ...

and his

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

Royal Hobart Hospital The Royal Hobart Hospital is a public hospital in the Hobart CBD, Tasmania, Australia. The hospital also functions as a teaching hospital in co-operation with the University of Tasmania. The hospital's research facilities are known as the Roy ...

, subsequently accepting

locum A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

positions in Hobart,

New Norfolk New Norfolk ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#Big River, Leenowwenne/palawa kani: ''Wulawali'') is a river bank, riverside town located on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent in southeastern Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1807, it is Tasm ...

and Launceston. From 1965 to 1966 he lived in London and was the in-house doctor for

Beaverbrook Newspapers The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet in ...

. After returning to Australia he served as district medical officer at

Cygnet Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...

and then opened a general practice in the Launceston suburb of Riverside.

Politics

Grimes joined the

in 1968, after previously joining the

British Labour Party The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been describe ...

during his time in England. Grimes was elected to the Senate at the 1974 federal election, taking office immediately due to the preceding

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolutio ...

. In 1976, he was elected to

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...

's shadow cabinet with the sixth-highest number of votes. He was given the social security portfolio. In March 1980, Grimes was suspended from parliament for 24 hours for using the words "pimp" and "fascist" and accusing Prime Minister

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

of "setting up" a demonstration outside a nursing home at which nine people were arrested. After the ALP won the 1983 election, Grimes was appointed Minister for Social Security in the

. He was also elected Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate. In a cabinet reshuffle in 1984 he was given the new position of

. Grimes underwent a triple bypass operation in June 1985 and returned to work in August. In October 1986, Grimes announced that he would not seek re-election. He resigned from Parliament in April 1987, but the

casual vacancy ''The Casual Vacancy'' is a novel written by British author J. K. Rowling, published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. It was Rowling's first publication since the ''Harry Potter'' series, her first novel apart fr ...

was not immediately filled because the Tasmanian Parliament stalemated over the appointment of the Labor Party's nominee as replacement senator, John Devereux.

Later life

Between 1987 and 1991, Grimes was Australian Ambassador to the Netherlands. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in January 1992. In May 1992, he was announced as the chairman of the Australian National Council on AIDS. He was Chairman of South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service from September 1995 to February 2004. Grimes died on 20 November 2021 at the age of 84.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimes, Don 1937 births 2021 deaths People from Albury People educated at Fort Street High School Members of the Cabinet of Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Tasmania Ambassadors of Australia to the Netherlands 20th-century Australian politicians Officers of the Order of Australia