John Faulkner
John Philip Faulkner (born 12 April 1954) is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1989 to 2015. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments.
The Honourable John Faulkner | |
|---|---|
| Father of the Australian Senate | |
| In office 1 July 2014 – 6 February 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Ron Boswell |
| Succeeded by | Ian Macdonald |
| Minister for Defence | |
| In office 9 June 2009 – 13 September 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Joel Fitzgibbon |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Smith |
| Vice-President of the Executive Council | |
| In office 3 December 2007 – 13 September 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Nick Minchin |
| Succeeded by | Robert McClelland |
| National President of the Labor Party | |
| In office 10 January 2007 – 27 February 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Warren Mundine |
| Succeeded by | Mike Rann |
| Special Minister of State | |
| In office 3 December 2007 – 9 June 2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd |
| Preceded by | Gary Nairn |
| Succeeded by | Joe Ludwig |
| Minister for the Environment | |
| In office 25 March 1994 – 11 March 1996 | |
| Prime Minister | Paul Keating |
| Preceded by | Graham Richardson |
| Succeeded by | Robert Hill |
| Minister for Defence Science and Personnel | |
| In office 24 March 1993 – 25 March 1994 | |
| Prime Minister | Paul Keating |
| Preceded by | Gordon Bilney |
| Succeeded by | Gary Punch |
| Minister for Veterans' Affairs | |
| In office 24 March 1993 – 25 March 1994 | |
| Prime Minister | Paul Keating |
| Preceded by | Ben Humphreys |
| Succeeded by | Con Sciacca |
| Senator for New South Wales | |
| In office 4 April 1989 – 6 February 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Arthur Gietzelt |
| Succeeded by | Jenny McAllister |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 April 1954 Leeton, Australia |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Alma mater | Macquarie University |
After his election to the Senate in 1989, Prime Minister Paul Keating appointed Faulkner as Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Science and Personnel in 1993. In 1994, Faulkner was moved to the position of Minister for the Environment, which he held until Labor's defeat in 1996. He later served as the Leader of the Labor Party in the Senate from 1996 to 2005, and returned to Cabinet upon Labor's election in 2007, after Kevin Rudd made him Vice-President of the Executive Council and Special Minister of State. He later served as Minister for Defence from 2009 to 2010, when he retired from frontline politics. He became the Father of the Australian Senate in 2014, and retired from Parliament altogether a year later by way of resignation, and is considered by some as an elder statesman. Faulkner has since been a member of the board of the Global Panel Foundation – Australasia – an NGO that works global in crisis areas.