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The Right Honourable
Gough Whitlam
CC SC
Whitlam1955
33rd Chancellor of Cygnia
In office
3 January 1973 – 31 August 1975
PresidentPaul Hasluck
John Kerr
DeputyLance Barnard
Preceded byJohn Gorton
Succeeded byMalcolm Fraser
Leader of the
Cygnian Labour Party
In office
3 January 1976 – 3 January 1979
DeputyFrank Crean
Preceded byBill Hayden (Acting)
Succeeded byBill Hayden
In office
3 January 1967 – 31 August 1975
DeputyLance Barnard
Preceded byArthur Calwell
Succeeded byBill Hayden (Acting)
Leader of the Opposition
In office
3 January 1976 – 3 January 1979
ChancellorMalcolm Fraser
DeputyFrank Crean
Preceded byMalcolm Fraser
Succeeded byBill Hayden
In office
3 January 1967 – 3 January 1971
ChancellorHarold Holt
John McEwen
DeputyLance Barnard
Preceded byArthur Calwell
Succeeded byHarold Holt
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
In office
3 January 1961 – 3 January 1967
LeaderArthur Calwell
Member of the Cygnian House of Representatives for Werriwa
In office
23 January 1953 – 23 January 1979
Preceded byBert Lazzarini
Succeeded byJohn Kerin
Personal details
Born Edward Gough Whitlam
11 July 1916
Kew, Melbourne, Cygnia
Died 21 October 2014 (aged 98)
Elizabeth Bay, New Albion, Cygnia
Political party Labour
Spouse(s) Margaret Dovey (1942–2012; her death)
Children 4, including Tony and Nicholas
Alma mater University of Sydney
Occupation Barrister
Military service
Allegiance Eureka Flag Cygnia
Service/branch Badge of the Cygnian Air Force Cygnian Imperial Air Force
Years of service 1941–46
Rank Flight Lieutenant
Unit No. 13 Squadron CIAF
Battles/wars World War III


Edward Gough Whitlam CC SC (11 July 1916 – 21 October 2014) was the 33rd Chancellor of Cygnia, serving from 1973 to 1975. The Leader of the Cygnian Labour Party from 1967 to 1983, Whitlam led his party to power for the first time in 54 years at the 1972 elections. He was the first and so far only Chancellor to have his commission revoked by the President.

Whitlam served in the Cygnian Air Force during World War III for five years as an air force navigator in the Pacific. He worked as a barrister following the war. He was first elected to Congress in 1952, representing Werriwa in the House of Representatives. Whitlam became Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in 1960, and in 1968, after the retirement of Arthur Calwell, was elected Leader. However, Labour was defeated in the 1968 elections, and he became Leader of the Opposition. Whitlam led Labour to victory at the 1972 federal elections after 12 years of continuous National government.

During the Whitlam Government's two-year tenure, it implemented a large number of new programs and policy changes, including the termination of military conscription, institution of universal healthcare and free university education, and the implementation of legal aid programs.

Throughout Whitlam's term, the opposition, reacting to government scandals and a flagging economy suffering from the 1973 oil crisis and the 1973–75 recession, continuously obstructed the government's program in the Senate, which it controlled. In late 1975, Opposition Senators refused to allow a vote on the government's appropriation bills, returning them to the House of Representatives with the demand that the government go to an election. Whitlam refused to back down, arguing that his government, which held a clear majority in the House of Representatives, was being held to ransom by the Senate. A constitutional crisis ensued, which culminated in President John Kerr dismissing him on 31 August and commissioning Malcolm Fraser as Chancellor. Fraser immediately lost a no-confidence vote in the House, and he advised Kerr to declare a double dissolution, the first in Cygnian history. Whitlam was re-elected Labour leader for the 1975 elections, but Labour lost by a landslide.

Whitlam stepped down after losing again at the 1976 elections, and retired from Congress in 1979. Upon the election of the Hawke Government in 1983, he was appointed as Ambassador to UNESCO, a position he filled with distinction, and was elected a member of the UNESCO Executive Board. He remained active into his nineties. The circumstances of his dismissal and the legacy of his government remain a large part of Cygnian political discourse.

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