Sir James Killen | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Killen in 1969 | |
| Father of the House | |
| In office 1 April 1983 – 15 August 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Malcolm Fraser |
| Succeeded by | Doug Anthony |
| Vice-President of the Executive Council Leader of the House | |
| In office 7 May 1982 – 11 March 1983 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | Sir John Carrick Ian Sinclair |
| Succeeded by | Mick Young |
| Minister for Defence | |
| In office 11 November 1975 – 7 May 1982 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | Bill Morrison |
| Succeeded by | Ian Sinclair |
| Minister for the Navy | |
| In office 12 November 1969 – 22 March 1971 | |
| Prime Minister | John Gorton William McMahon |
| Preceded by | Bert Kelly |
| Succeeded by | Malcolm Mackay |
| Member of theAustralian Parliament forMoreton | |
| In office 10 December 1955 – 15 August 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Josiah Francis |
| Succeeded by | Don Cameron |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 November 1925 Dalby,Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 12 January 2007(2007-01-12) (aged 81) Auchenflower, Queensland, Australia |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Joy Buley Benise Killen |
| Education | Brisbane Grammar School |
| Alma mater | University of Queensland |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Australia |
| Branch/service |  Royal Australian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1943–1945 |
| Rank | Flight sergeant |
Sir Denis James "Jim" Killen,AC, KCMG (23 November 1925 – 12 January 2007) was an Australian politician and aLiberal Party member of theAustralian House of Representatives for almost 30 years, 1955 to 1983, representing theDivision of Moreton in Queensland. He served asVice-President of the Executive Council,Minister for Defence andMinister for the Navy during his parliamentary career.
Killen was born inDalby, Queensland, son of Mabel Killen, née Sheridan,[1] and dentist James Walker Killen, who died 16 January 1928.[2] He was educated atBrisbane Grammar School and theUniversity of Queensland, where he graduated in law. He enlisted for service in theRoyal Australian Air Force duringWorld War II; he was discharged in 1945 with the rank offlight sergeant. After the war he worked on the land before returning to Brisbane. In 1949 he joined the newLiberal Party of Australia and became the founding president of the QueenslandYoung Liberals.[3]
In the1955 election, Killen was elected to theHouse of Representatives for the Brisbane seat ofMoreton, holding the seat until 1983.[4] He quickly became known as a talented orator but his outspokenness and commitment to causes that Menzies regarded as contrary to Liberal Party principles limited his chances of promotion.
His critics alleged he was associated with the extremistAustralian League of Rights, whose director,Eric Dudley Butler, was a notoriousanti-Semite, although Killen himself was never accused of anti-Semitism. He was a supporter ofIan Smith's regime inRhodesia and opposedsanctions against apartheid South Africa.[5]
In the1961 election, Killen narrowly retained his seat, and sinceRobert Menzies' Liberal government was re-elected with a majority of only two, and with Killen's seat the last to be declared, it was claimed by some that Killen had 'saved' Menzies and his government. Killen claimed that Menzies had phoned him, saying "Killen, you are magnificent!", and that story was widely repeated for many years, but he later confessed he had made it up for theCourier-Mail to overcome his disappointment at not, in fact, receiving such a call from Menzies.[6]
By the late 1960s Killen had somewhat moderated his views, and in the government ofJohn Gorton he served asMinister for the Navy from 1969 to 1971. WhenWilliam McMahon became Prime Minister, Killen was dropped from the Ministry. After the Liberals lost office toLabor underGough Whitlam, he served in theShadow Cabinet underBilly Snedden andMalcolm Fraser from 1972 to 1975, acting as the party spokesman on Education and later Defence. He served asMinister for Defence in the Fraser Government from 1975 to 1982.[4]
During this time he oversaw a major review of theAustralian Defence Force and also the military build-up which followed theSoviet invasion ofAfghanistan in 1979. He oversaw the largest single piece of Defence expenditure in Australian history, the purchase of 75F/A-18 Hornets.
Killen was moved out of Defence in a 1982 reshuffle. He was made aKnight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George,[7] becoming "Sir James Killen KCMG", and appointedVice-President of the Executive Council, a position he held until the defeat of the Fraser government in1983 election by Labor underBob Hawke. He becameFather of the House of Representatives in April 1983, and resigned his seat of Moreton in August 1983 (the first Queensland Member of the House of Representatives to resign), and returned to his legal practice. He was a prominent figure at the Brisbane bar through the 1980s and 1990s.
Killen was a prominentmonarchist and was elected to theConstitutional Convention in 1998 as an opponent of anAustralian republic.[8] In 2004, he was made aCompanion of the Order of Australia (AC).[9]
Killen had a reputation as a great parliamentary wit who developed close friendships with many people on both sides of politics, among themGough Whitlam,Fred Daly andBarry Cohen. He wrote the preface to Daly's collection of political anecdotes,The Politician Who Laughed (1982).
Killen was married twice. His first marriage was in 1949, to Joy (née Buley), with whom he had three daughters (one of whom predeceased him). Joy Killen died in 2000, and he married his second wife, Benise (née Atherton) the following year.[5]
In 1976,Mungo MacCallum published an article in theNation Review magazine alleging that Killen was having an extramarital affair withMargaret Guilfoyle, one of his cabinet colleagues. Oblique references to the rumours had also been made in other publications.[10] He and Guilfoyle sued for defamation, and obtained an injunction against further publication.[11]
Killen died in Brisbane in 2007. Gough Whitlam delivered the eulogy at his state funeral at Brisbane'sSt. John's Cathedral.[12] Killen was survived by his second wife Benise, his two surviving daughters, and two granddaughters.[13]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister for the Navy 1969–1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Defence 1975–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice-President of the Executive Council 1982–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by | Member forMoreton 1955–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Father of the House of Representatives 1983 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
