| The Honourable Bob Katter |
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|---|---|
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Kennedy |
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| In office 26 November 1966 – 19 February 1990 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Riordan |
| Succeeded by | Rob Hulls |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 September 1918 Brisbane |
| Died | 18 March 1990 (aged 71) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Country Party |
| Spouse(s) | 1st: (dec'd); 2nd: Joy Katter |
| Children | 1st: Norman, Bob, Geraldine 2nd: Carl, Richard, Bernadette |
| Alma mater | University of Queensland |
| Occupation | Business manager |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1940–1942 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 9th Infantry Battalion 2nd Division |
| Service number | Q15621 |
| 1 Military record shows discrepancy in spelling of name as Robert Cumin Katter | |
Robert Cummin "Bob" Katter (5 September 1918 – 18 March 1990) was an Australian federal politician and Minister for the Army. He was a Country Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for over 23 years.
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Katter was born in Brisbane, Queensland, of Maronite Catholic Lebanese descent and has been described as a cousin of the poet Khalil Gibran.[1] His father was one of the two dozen original investors to start Qantas.[2] He was raised and educated "probably by the nuns" in Cloncurry and later at Mount Carmel College in Charters Towers.[3] He began legal studies at the University of Queensland and resided at St Leo's College (when the College was at Wickham Terrace), but with the outbreak of World War II, he served in the Australian Army as a lieutenant from 1940 and was promoted to captain in 1942.[4] In July 1942 his service was terminated on grounds of ill health. Later he was proprietor of the local drapery business, menswear store and picture theatre in Cloncurry, Queensland.[5] One of his first actions in taking over the cinema was to remove the steel railings which separated the Aboriginal patrons from other Australians[2] and to remove the hard chairs so that everyone was forced to share the canvas seats[5] normally reserved for European Australians.
Katter served on Cloncurry Shire Council for over twenty years. He was a Councillor from 1946 to 1967 and was its Chairman from 1948 to 1951 and again from 1964 to 1967.[6][7]
Katter's first wife died in 1971. He re-married, to Joy, in 1976.
Katter was at one time a member of the Australian Labor Party and a union delegate on the Brisbane wharves. He left the Labor Party in 1957 when the Queensland Labor Party split from the federal party. He was elected as a Country Party member for Kennedy at the 1966 election and continued to hold the seat until his retirement in 1990. He was Minister for the Army from February 1972 until the McMahon government's defeat at the December 1972 election.[6] From 1976 to 1983, he was Chairman of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Road Safety and was a strong advocate of the introduction of random breath-testing in states where it had not already been implemented, including Queensland. He also served as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade. He served two terms as Australian Parliamentary representative to the United Nations. Katter was appointed by the Australian Tourist Commission as an ambassador to the United States for tourism following the success of the film "Crocodile" Dundee there in 1986. Bob Katter played a major role in establishing the Stockman's Hall of Fame at Longreach and was the founding Chairman.[8][9]
He chose not to contest the 24 March 1990 election, and retired when the Parliament was dissolved on 19 February. He died a month later, a week before the election. He was survived by his second wife, two sons and a daughter from his first marriage, and two sons and a daughter from his second marriage.[3]
One of his sons from his first marriage, also named Bob Katter, is the current member for Kennedy.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Andrew Peacock |
Minister for the Army 1972 |
Succeeded by Lance Barnard |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by Bill Riordan |
Member for Kennedy 1966–1990 |
Succeeded by Rob Hulls |