Antony Philip Whitlam (born 7 January 1944) is an Australian lawyer who has served as a politician and judge. He is the son of

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 he ...

(former

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 ...

) and

Margaret Whitlam Margaret Elaine Whitlam, AO (née Dovey; 19 November 1919 – 17 March 2012) was an Australian social campaigner, author, and athlete. She was the wife of Gough Whitlam, the 21st Prime Minister of Australia from 1972 to 1975, and a representa ...

Early life and education

Whitlam was born in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, and educated at

Sydney Boys High School , motto_translation = With Truth and Courage , established = , location = Cleveland Street, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , p ...

(1956–60) and the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

in Canberra, where he graduated in law.

Career

Early legal career

Whitlam was called to the New South Wales bar in 1967. In 1973, he became South-east Asia regional counsel for Rank Xerox.

Political career

After several unsuccessful runs for preselection, Whitlam was elected in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

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 ...

seat of Grayndler in central Sydney. His father Gough Whitlam was at that time the Leader of the Labor Party and had just been dismissed as Prime Minister 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 ...

, Sir John Kerr. Labor was heavily defeated but Tony Whitlam easily won Grayndler. He became only the second federal MP to serve in the House at the same time as his father. He is also the only child of an Australian Prime Minister to be a federal MP ( Kevin and Brendan Lyons, sons of Prime Minister

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He began his career in the Australian Labor Party (ALP), ...

, were

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

n state MPs). In 1977, there was a redistribution of electoral boundaries in New South Wales, and the Division of Lang, adjoining Grayndler, was abolished. Whitlam ceded Labor preselection to the sitting Labor MP for Lang, Frank Stewart and stood for another seat, the marginal Liberal seat of

St George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

, where he was defeated at the December 1977 election by the sitting Liberal member,

Maurice Neil Maurice James Neil (born 29 May 1944) is an Australian politician, soldier and lawyer. Born in Manchester, England, he migrated to Australia at the age of 5. Neil attended the University of Sydney. He served in the military 1966–75, includi ...

. He attempted a return to federal politics in 1979, but was defeated in a preselection battle for the seat of Grayndler.The Age, 14 May 1979, p. 5
/ref> During his time as a member of the Federal ALP Caucus, Whitlam got to vote for his father as leader twice, the first in January 1976 the month after the 1975 election defeat and in May 1977 when Bill Hayden launched an unsuccessful challenge against him. He returned to the Sydney bar, where he had a successful career.

Judicial appointments

Whitlam was appointed a judge of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

in 1993. In 1995 he was also appointed a judge of the

Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. The court has ...

. Whitlam was one of only six politicians to have served in both the

Parliament of Australia 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 ...

and the

, alongside

Nigel Bowen Sir Nigel Hubert Bowen, AC, KBE, QC (26 May 191127 September 1994) was an Australian lawyer, politician and judge. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1964 to 1973, representing the New South W ...

, Robert Ellicott, Merv Everett, John Reeves and Duncan Kerr. After retiring from his judgeships, Whitlam returned again to the bar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitlam, Tony 1944 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Children of prime ministers of Australia Gough Whitlam Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Grayndler Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Lawyers from Sydney People educated at Sydney Boys High School Australian King's Counsel 20th-century Australian politicians Politicians from Sydney Australian National University alumni