43 Facts About Simon Crean

Simon Findlay Crean was an Australian politician and trade unionist.

Simon Crean was the leader of the Australian Labor Party and leader of the opposition from 2001 to 2003.

Simon Crean represented the seat of Hotham in the House of Representatives from 1990 to 2013 and was a cabinet minister in the Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments.

Crean was born in Melbourne, the son of Frank Crean who was deputy prime minister under Gough Whitlam.

Simon Crean studied law and economics at Monash University and was involved in the trade union movement from a young age, becoming general secretary of the Storemen and Packers' Union in 1979.

Simon Crean was elected vice-president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in 1981 and president in 1985.

Simon Crean stood down from this role upon his election to parliament at the 1990 federal election, and was immediately appointed Minister for Science and Technology in the Hawke government.

Simon Crean held several other ministerial posts until Labor's defeat at the 1996 election.

Simon Crean was elected unopposed to succeed Beazley as party leader following further defeat at the 2001 election, becoming leader of the opposition.

Simon Crean supported Julia Gillard in her leadership challenge to Kevin Rudd in June 2010, and remained in the Cabinet after she was successful.

When Rudd eventually did return as prime minister at the leadership spill in June 2013, Simon Crean ran unsuccessfully to return to the role of deputy leader; he subsequently announced his decision to retire from politics at the 2013 election.

Simon Crean was one of three sons born to Mary and Frank Crean.

Simon Crean's father was a federal Labor MP from 1951 to 1977, who served periods as Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam government.

One of his brothers, David Simon Crean, a medical doctor, was a Member of the Tasmanian Parliament.

Simon Crean grew up in the inner Melbourne suburb of Middle Park.

Simon Crean was educated at Melbourne High School, before going on to Monash University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws.

Simon Crean was defeated for preselection by former ALP state leader Clyde Holding, with Holding winning the ballot by 36 votes to 34.

In 1979, Simon Crean was elected General Secretary of the SPU, which entitled him to a seat on the board of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

Simon Crean was elected ACTU vice-president in 1981, before in 1985 winning election as ACTU president.

Ahead of the 1990 election, Simon Crean was easily selected as the Labor candidate for the safe seat of Hotham; he was elected to Parliament on 24 March, and immediately entered the Cabinet as Minister for Science and Technology.

Simon Crean became Minister for Primary Industries and Energy in 1991, retaining this job when Paul Keating replaced Bob Hawke as prime minister in December 1991.

Simon Crean joined the Shadow Cabinet, and after Evans retired from politics following Labor's 1998 election defeat, Crean was easily elected to replace him, becoming Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Treasurer.

In November 2001, following Labor's third consecutive election defeat, Simon Crean was elected unopposed to replace Kim Beazley as Leader of the Labor Party, becoming leader of the opposition; Jenny Macklin was elected as his deputy, unopposed.

On 4 February 2003, Simon Crean led the Labor Party to condemn Prime Minister John Howard's decision to commit Australian troops to the Iraq War.

Simon Crean retained this position when Beazley returned to the leadership in January 2005.

However, in a reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet in June 2005, Simon Crean was demoted to Shadow Minister for Regional Development.

Simon Crean then faced a pre-selection challenge for his seat of Hotham from Martin Pakula, a member of his former union, the SPU, a move which Crean publicly blamed on Beazley, Hong Lim, and the Labor Right.

Simon Crean attended the APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade and the OECD Roundtable on Sustainable Development on behalf of the Australian Government.

Simon Crean co-chaired the 8th Joint Trade and Economic Cooperation Committee with the Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc in Hanoi, leading to an improvement in the trading relationship between Australia and Vietnam.

On 21 March 2013, following significant leadership tensions arising from poor opinion polling, Simon Crean called for Gillard to spill the leadership, with the aim of encouraging Rudd to challenge for the position of Prime Minister.

Simon Crean said he would challenge Wayne Swan for the role of deputy leader, if Rudd ran for the leadership.

Simon Crean became the first Labor minister to be sacked with a dismissal letter from the Governor General since Jim Cairns in 1975.

Simon Crean subsequently announced he would retire from politics at the 2013 election.

Simon Crean retired as the first person to serve as a Cabinet Minister under four Labor Prime Ministers since Jack Beasley.

In October 2014, Simon Crean was elected chairman of the Australian Livestock Exporters Council.

Simon Crean was re-elected for a second term in 2016.

Simon Crean was an associate professor at Deakin University and chaired the university's Advanced Manufacturing Group.

Simon Crean was a director on the boards of Linfox and Melbourne's Luna Park.

Simon Crean was posthumously appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in the 2024 King's Birthday Honours.

Simon Crean was married to Carole for 50 years and they had two children.

Simon Crean was a supporter and patron of the North Melbourne Football Club.

Simon Crean died from a pulmonary embolism in Berlin, on 25 June 2023, while visiting Germany as part of an industry delegation as head of the European Australian Business Council.

Simon Crean confirmed Crean would be given a state funeral.