Whitlam

Japanese: ホイットラム

Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, graduated from the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney. He became a Labor Party member in 1952 and became party leader in 1967. Taking advantage of the decline of conservatism, he won his third general election as party leader in 1972, and formed the first Labor Party government in 23 years. Within a month of becoming prime minister, he achieved recognition of China and withdrawal from intervention in Vietnam, abolished conscription, and was the first prime minister to respond to the indigenous people's land rights movement, laying the groundwork for realization in 1977. In 1975, he led Papua New Guinea to independence, freeing his country from colonialism. He also achieved results in social welfare, such as launching a national health insurance system, expanded the education budget by making university tuition free, and promoted the rise of culture through a large-scale cultural subsidy policy. However, inflation and unemployment increased due to the international oil crisis, and in October 1975, the opposition party, which held a majority in the Senate, blocked the passage of the budget. When Whitlam proposed to re-elect half of the Senate, Governor-General J. Carr dismissed the Prime Minister and dissolved Parliament on November 11 under Article 64 of the Constitution, leading to an unprecedented incident known as the "Constitutional Crisis of 1975." As a result of the general election amid a national uproar, the government was handed over to the Liberal Party's Fraser.

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

オーストラリアの政治家。メルボルンに生まれ，シドニー大学文学部および法学部卒業。1952年労働党連邦下院議員になり，1967年党首に就任，保守の退潮に乗じて，1972年党首として３度目の総選挙で勝利し，23年ぶりの労働党政権を誕生させた。首相就任後１ヵ月ほどで中国承認，ベトナム介入からの撤退を実現させ，さらに徴兵制を廃止し，先住民の土地権要求運動に歴代首相として初めてこたえ，1977年の実現の基礎固めをした。1975年にはパプア・ニューギニアを独立に導き，自国を植民地主義から脱却させた。国民健康保険制度を発足させるなど社会福祉面でも成果をあげ，大学授業料の無料化など教育予算も拡大，また大幅な文化助成政策によって文化の興隆をも促した。しかし国際的な石油危機でインフレと失業が増大し，1975年10月上院多数派の野党が予算案の通過を阻んだ。ホイットラムが上院の半数改選を打ち出すと，11月11日J.カー総督が憲法第64条に基づいて首相を解任，議会を解散して〈1975年の憲法危機〉といわれる異例の事件に発展した。国論沸騰の中での総選挙の結果，自由党のフレーザーに政権を交替した。

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