Simon Findlay Crean was a well-known Australian politician and trade unionist who was born on February 26, 1949, and died on June 25, 2023. He devoted a sizable portion of his professional life to the Labor Party, serving as the Australian Parliament’s representative for the Hotham electorate from 1990 to 2013.
He also served as a cabinet minister in the administrations of Prime Ministers Hawke, Keating, Rudd, and Gillard throughout this time. Notably, from November 2001 to December 2003, Crean served as both the Labor Party’s and the Opposition’s leader.
Crean entered various positions within several trade unions after completing his schooling at Monash University, eventually rising to the position of office in the Storeman and Packers Union (SPU).
He ran for ALP preselection in 1977 at the age of 28 to follow his father in the Melbourne Ports constituency, which was viewed as a safe Labor seat. On the preselection ballot, he was defeated by former ALP state leader Clyde Holding by a narrow score of 36 to 34.
When Crean was elected general secretary of the SPU in 1979, his career was given a considerable boost and he was given a position on the board of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). He then advanced to the position of ACTU Vice President in 1981, and in 1985, when he won the election to lead the ACTU, he scored a big triumph.
Simon Crean brother: Who is David Crean?
David Mackenzie Crean, a Labor Party representative who was born on November 21, 1950, in Melbourne, served in the Tasmanian Parliament. He is the brother of former federal opposition leader Simon Crean and the son of Frank Crean, a former deputy prime minister of Australia.
In Hobart, Crean practiced medicine prior to entering politics. Crean founded the first after-hours medical locum practice in the city with his business partner Brendan Nelson, who would later rise to prominence as a leader of the federal opposition. Prior to this, he was married to Jill Robson, a fellow politician Neil Robson’s daughter.
Following the 1989 election, Crean was elected to the House of Assembly for the Denison division. In the election held in February 1992, he lost, though. He was elected to the Legislative Council in May 1992, representing Buckingham, which later changed its name to Elwick.
In May 2004, Crean left politics due to kidney disease. He headed Hydro Tasmania from September 2004 until his resignation in 2014. Sue Mackay, a former senator, is his partner.