Kim Beazley

The Honourable Kim Beazley AC
Official portrait, 2010
Governor of Western Australia
In office 1 May 2018 – 30 June 2022
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Premier	Mark McGowan
Preceded by	Kerry Sanderson
Succeeded by	Chris Dawson
Leader of the Opposition
In office 18 January 2005 – 4 December 2006
Prime Minister	John Howard
Deputy	Jenny Macklin
Preceded by	Mark Latham
Succeeded by	Kevin Rudd
In office 19 March 1996 – 22 November 2001
Prime Minister	John Howard
Deputy	Gareth Evans Simon Crean
Preceded by	John Howard
Succeeded by	Simon Crean
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
In office 20 June 1995 – 11 March 1996
Prime Minister	Paul Keating
Preceded by	Brian Howe
Succeeded by	Tim Fischer
Leader of the House
In office 15 February 1988 – 11 March 1996
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke Paul Keating
Preceded by	Mick Young
Succeeded by	Peter Reith
Party Leadership Leader of the Labor Party In office 28 January 2005 – 4 December 2006 Deputy Jenny Macklin Preceded by Mark Latham Succeeded by Kevin Rudd In office 19 March 1996 – 22 November 2001 Deputy Gareth Evans Simon Crean Preceded by Paul Keating Succeeded by Simon Crean Deputy Leader of the Labor Party In office 20 June 1995 – 19 March 1996 Leader Paul Keating Preceded by Brian Howe Succeeded by Gareth Evans
Cabinet Positions Minister for Finance In office 23 December 1993 – 11 March 1996 Prime Minister Paul Keating Preceded by Ralph Willis Succeeded by John Fahey Minister for Employment and Education In office 27 December 1991 – 23 December 1993 Prime Minister Paul Keating Preceded by John Dawkins Succeeded by Simon Crean Minister for Transport and Communications In office 4 April 1990 – 27 December 1991 Prime Minister Bob Hawke Preceded by Ralph Willis Succeeded by Graham Richardson Minister for Defence In office 13 December 1984 – 4 April 1990 Prime Minister Bob Hawke Preceded by Gordon Scholes Succeeded by Robert Ray Minister for Aviation In office 11 March 1983 – 13 December 1984 Prime Minister Bob Hawke Preceded by Wal Fife Succeeded by Peter Morris
Ambassador of Australia to the United States
In office 17 February 2010 – 22 January 2016
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Dennis Richardson
Succeeded by	Joe Hockey
Member of the Australian Parliament for Brand
In office 2 March 1996 – 17 October 2007
Preceded by	Wendy Fatin
Succeeded by	Gary Gray
Member of the Australian Parliament for Swan
In office 18 October 1980 – 2 March 1996
Preceded by	John Martyr
Succeeded by	Don Randall
Personal details
Born	Kim Christian Beazley (1948-12-14) 14 December 1948 (age 75) Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia
Political party	Labor
Spouses	Mary Ciccarelli ​ ​ (m. 1974; div. 1988)​ Susie Annus ​ ​ (m. 1990)​
Children	3, including Hannah
Parents	Kim Beazley Sr. Betty Judge
Education	Hollywood Senior High School
Alma mater	University of Western Australia (BA, MA) Balliol College, Oxford (MPhil)
Profession	Academic, politician, diplomat

Kim Christian Beazley AC (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. Since 2022 he has served as chairman of the Australian War Memorial. Previously, 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 cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating governments. After leaving parliament, he served as ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2016 and 33rd governor of Western Australia from 2018 to 2022.

Beazley was born in Perth, the son of politician Kim Beazley Sr. He studied at the University of Western Australia and Balliol College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar. After a period as a lecturer at Murdoch University, Beazley was elected to Parliament at the 1980 election, winning the Division of Swan. Prime Minister Bob Hawke appointed Beazley to the cabinet following Labor's victory at the 1983 election, and Beazley served as a minister continuously through to the party's defeat at the 1996 election. His roles included Minister for Defence from 1984 to 1990, Leader of the House from 1988 to 1996, Minister for Finance from 1993 to 1996 and the ninth deputy prime minister from 1995 to 1996.

After Labor's 1996 defeat, Beazley was elected unopposed as Labor Leader, replacing Paul Keating. Despite winning the popular vote at the 1998 election, Beazley could not win enough seats to form government, and after a second defeat in 2001, he resigned the leadership. He attempted twice to return to the leadership, doing so in 2005 after Labor lost the 2004 election, but was successfully challenged by Kevin Rudd in December 2006 following poor opinion polling. Beazley retired from Parliament at the 2007 election, which Labor won, and in 2010 was appointed Ambassador to the United States. He held this role until 2016, before being nominated as Governor of Western Australia by the premier, Mark McGowan, in 2018.