Malcolm Fraser | Australian leader, 84
Malcolm Fraser, 84, who became prime minister of Australia after engineering the dismissal of Gough Whitlam in 1975 and went on to win three federal elections, died Friday after a short illness, his office said in a statement.
Malcolm Fraser, 84, who became prime minister of Australia after engineering the dismissal of Gough Whitlam in 1975 and went on to win three federal elections, died Friday after a short illness, his office said in a statement.
The Liberal opposition leader became embroiled in Australia's best-known constitutional crisis when he emerged from Parliament House in November 1975 as Whitlam's unelected successor.
Governor-General John Kerr, the British monarchy's representative in Australia at the time, had asked Mr. Fraser to form a government after sacking Whitlam over the opposition's blockage of supply bills. After winning a landslide election victory against Whitlam in December 1975, Mr. Fraser went on to win in 1977 and 1980. - Bloomberg