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Geoffrey Gallop
Dr. Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951), Australian politician, has been the Premier of Western Australia since 2001.
Gallop joined the Australian Labor Party in 1971. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 1972, and as an undergraduate at Oxford University met and became close friends with Tony Blair. He is also a long-time friend of federal Labor Leader Kim Beazley.
Before entering politics, Gallop worked as a tutor and lecturer at both Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia (UWA), and was a City Councillor at Fremantle from 1983 to 1986. He was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the seat of Victoria Park in 1986.
From 1990 to 1993, during the Lawrence Labor Government, Gallop held portfolios including Education, Parliamentary and Electoral Reform, Fuel and Energy, Micro-Economic Reform, and Minister assisting the Treasurer. The Lawrence government was defeated at the 1993 state elections, and Gallop was elected Deputy Leader of the State Parliamentary Labor Party.
In Opposition, his Shadow Ministerial responsibilities included Treasury, Resources and Energy, Parliamentary and Electoral Reform, Public Sector Management, Accountability, Sport and Recreation, Aboriginal Affairs, Health, Federal Affairs, Treasury and the South West.
In October 1996, following the resignation of Jim McGinty , he was elected Leader of the Opposition, and soon after in December of that same year, contested the State election as Labor Leader. He was defeated by the Liberal Party government of Richard Court.
Gallop is a strong supporter of the movement for an Australian republic, and took a leading role in the push for a directly-elected President during the 1998 Constitutional Convention in Canberra.
At the State election held on the 10 February 2001, Gallop led the Labor Party to victory, becoming Premier and Minister for Public Sector Management, Federal Affairs, Science, Citizenship and Multicultural Interests.
Although many commentators, including the local newspaper The West Australian, regarded Gallop's performance in office as mediocre, he won a second term at the 26 February 2005 state election, mainly due to errors made during the campaign by the Liberal leader Colin Barnett.
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