Bill Hayden

The Honourable Bill Hayden AC
Hayden in 1973
21st Governor-General of Australia
In office 16 February 1989 – 16 February 1996
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke Paul Keating
Preceded by	Sir Ninian Stephen
Succeeded by	Sir William Deane
Leader of the Opposition
In office 22 December 1977 – 8 February 1983
Prime Minister	Malcolm Fraser
Deputy	Lionel Bowen
Preceded by	Gough Whitlam
Succeeded by	Bob Hawke
Leader of the Labor Party
In office 22 December 1977 – 8 February 1983
Deputy	Lionel Bowen
Preceded by	Gough Whitlam
Succeeded by	Bob Hawke
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
In office 11 March 1983 – 17 August 1988
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke
Preceded by	Tony Street
Succeeded by	Gareth Evans
Treasurer of Australia
In office 6 June 1975 – 11 November 1975
Prime Minister	Gough Whitlam
Preceded by	Jim Cairns
Succeeded by	Phillip Lynch
Minister for Social Security
In office 19 December 1972 – 6 June 1975
Prime Minister	Gough Whitlam
Preceded by	Lance Barnard
Succeeded by	John Wheeldon
Member of the Australian Parliament for Oxley
In office 9 December 1961 – 17 August 1988
Preceded by	Donald Cameron
Succeeded by	Les Scott
Personal details
Born	William George Hayden (1933-01-23)23 January 1933 Spring Hill, Queensland, Australia
Died	21 October 2023(2023-10-21) (aged 90) Queensland, Australia
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Dallas Broadfoot ​ ​ (m. 1960)​
Children	4
Education	Brisbane State High School
Alma mater	University of Queensland
Occupation	Police officer (Queensland Police Service)
Profession	Politician

William George Hayden AC (23 January 1933 – 21 October 2023) was an Australian politician who served as the 21st governor-general of Australia from 1989 to 1996. He was Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1977 to 1983, and served as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1983 to 1988 under Bob Hawke and as Treasurer of Australia in 1975 under Gough Whitlam.

Hayden was born in Brisbane, Queensland. He attended Brisbane State High School and then joined the Queensland Police, working as a police officer for eight years while studying economics part-time at the University of Queensland. Hayden was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1961 federal election, aged 28 – along with Manfred Cross and Doug McClelland, Hayden was the earliest elected Labor MP still alive at the time of his death.^[1] When Gough Whitlam led the Labor Party to victory in 1972, Hayden was made Minister for Social Security. He replaced Jim Cairns as Treasurer in 1975, but served for only five months before the government was dismissed.

In early 1977, Hayden challenged Whitlam for the party leadership and was defeated by just two votes. He defeated Lionel Bowen to succeed Whitlam as Leader of the Opposition at the end of the year, following Labor's defeat at the 1977 election. Hayden led the party to the 1980 election, recording a substantial swing but falling short of victory. He was replaced by Bob Hawke just a few weeks before the 1983 election, after months of speculation. Hayden served as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1983 to 1988, then left parliament to assume the governor-generalship. He held that position for seven years, with only Lord Gowrie having served for longer.