Australian Federal Governments

• 1901: The First Federal Government - Edmund Barton - Barton was appointed Prime Minister by the Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun, in December 1900. In what is known as the "Hopetoun Blunder", the Governor-General had originally asked the Premier of NSW, William Lyne to form a ministry. Lyne was unable to garner enough support, mainly because of his previous opposition to Federation.

• 1904: The First Labor Government - John Watson - It is now believed that Watson probably wasn't even entitled to be a member of parliament, since he wasn't an Australian citizen! His leadership of the first federal Labor government was short-lived. The government was defeated on the floor of the House after less than 4 months in office.

• 1968-71: The Gorton Government - John Gorton became Liberal Prime Minister following the disappearance of Harold Holt. Gorton voted himself out of office on March 10, 1971, after a party-room challenge to his leadership was tied 33-33.

• 1972-75: The Whitlam Labor Government - Taking office on December 5, 1972, following his historic victory at the election of December 2, Gough Whitlam formed a two-man government with his deputy, Lance Barnard. The full ministry became the Second Whitlam Goverment on December 19, 1972. It was dismissed from office by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, on November 11, 1975, following the Senate's refusal to pass the Budget bills.
  • The First Whitlam Ministry
  • The Second Whitlam Ministry

• 1983-91: The Hawke Labor Government - Elected in March 1983, the Hawke Government became the longest-serving Labor government in Australia's federal history, surviving under Hawke until 1991 and then under Keating until 1996. Bob Hawke is the only ALP leader to win four elections and is also the nation's second-longest serving Prime Minister.

• 1993: The Second Keating Labor Government - In what Paul Keating called a "victory for the true believers", the Labor government was elected to a fifth successive victory. Keating's power over the government was at its zenith and he demanded that the party factions and caucus deliver him the ministry of his choice.

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