Bob Katter

Bob Katter
Official portrait, 1993
Father of the House
Assumed office
11 April 2022
Preceded byKevin Andrews
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Kennedy
Assumed office
13 March 1993
Preceded byRob Hulls
Leader of the Katter's Australian Party
In office
5 June 2011 – 3 February 2020
Preceded byParty established
Succeeded byRobbie Katter
Member of the Queensland Parliament
for Flinders
In office
7 December 1974 – 25 August 1992
Preceded byBill Longeran
Succeeded bySeat abolished
Minister for Northern Development; Community Services & Indigenous Affairs
In office
7 November 1983 – 25 September 1989
PremierJoh Bjelke-Petersen
Mike Ahern
Russell Cooper
Preceded byThomas Gilmore
Succeeded byMartin Tenni
Minister for Mines and Energy
In office
25 September 1989 – 7 December 1989
PremierRussell Cooper
Preceded byMartin Tenni
Succeeded byThomas Gilmore
Tony McGrady
Personal details
Born
Robert Bellarmine Carl Katter

(1945-05-22) 22 May 1945 (age 79)
Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia
Political partyKatter's Australian (since 2011)
Other political
affiliations
National (until 2001)
Independent (2001–2011)
RelationsCarl Katter (half-brother)
Alex Douglas (nephew)
Kim Hames (cousin)
See Katter family
ChildrenRobbie
Parent(s)Bob Katter Sr.
Mabel Horn
Residence(s)Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia
EducationMount Carmel College
St Columba Catholic College
Alma materUniversity of Queensland
OccupationMember of Parliament -
Insurance, mining and cattle interests
(Self-employed)
ProfessionFarmer, Labourer and Politician
Websitewww.bobkatter.com.au
Military service
Branch/serviceAustralian Army Reserve
Years of service1964–1972[1]
RankSecond Lieutenant
Unit49th Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment
Other offices

Robert Bellarmine Carl Katter (born 22 May 1945) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1993.[2][3] He was previously active in Queensland state politics from 1974 to 1992. Katter was a member of the National Party until 2001, when he left to sit as an independent. He formed his own party, Katter's Australian Party, in 2011.

Katter was born in Cloncurry, Queensland. His father, Bob Katter Sr., was also a politician. Katter was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly at the 1974 state election, representing the seat of Flinders. He was elevated to cabinet in 1983, under Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and was a government minister until the National Party's defeat at the 1989 state election.

Katter left state politics in 1992, and the following year was elected to federal parliament standing in the Division of Kennedy (his father's old seat). He resigned from the National Party in the lead-up to the 2001 federal election, and has since been re-elected four more times as an independent and another four times for his own party. Katter is known for his social conservatism.[4] His son, Robbie Katter, is a state MP in Queensland, the third generation of the family to be a member of parliament.[1]

  1. ^ a b "The Hon. (Bob) Robert Carl Katter". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  2. ^ "Round About WITH PENELOPE". Sunday Mail. No. 788. Queensland, Australia. 27 May 1945. p. 7. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Bob Katter Fact Check: never heard of Gays before 50? Archived 27 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine", QNews, January 2019.
  4. ^ Murray, Duncan (21 April 2022). "Maverick MP Bob Katter blows up over China in Q&A appearance". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.