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Peter
Beattie |
The Right Honorable Peter Beattie
Trade
Commissioner to the Americas
and Former Premier of Queensland, Australia
Public Address: “The
Making of the Australian Tiger – Queensland’s Rise to
the Top”
Wednesday,
April 23, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
Shaw Hall, Younts Conference Center
Furman University
The Right Honorable
Peter Beattie, originally a small-town country boy, is a name few
in Australia do not recognize. After joining the Australian Labor
Party (ALP) in 1974, Beattie played a major role with the late Dr.
Denis Murphy in reforming the party's Queensland branch before being
elected State Secretary in 1981. In 1989, he was elected to Parliament
as the Member for Brisbane Central and in July 1995, he served as
Health Minister before becoming Opposition Leader in 1996. Beattie
was Queensland's Premier from 1998 - 2007, and is currently the
Trade Commissioner to the Americas.
His legacy
as Premier was turning Queensland into Australia's "Smart State"
through a newly focused education system, workforce development,
and creating long-term jobs in industries such as biotechnology
and information technology.
The author
of The Year of the Dangerous Ones (1994) and the autobiographical
In the Arena (1990), Beattie is a member of various organizations,
including the Queensland Law Society; the Society of St Andrew of
Scotland (Queensland); Queensland Railway Employees Union; and the
Queensland Association for Mental Health.
In late 2003,
Beattie received an honorary Doctor of Science from the University
of Queensland. UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay, who personally
nominated the Premier for the award, said the doctorate recognized
Beattie for his leadership and commitment to higher education through
the Queensland Government's "Smart State" initiatives.
Establishing growth in industries such as biotechnology and nanotechnology
and attracting and distributing significant funding for development
in these areas were hallmarks of Beattie’s initiatives.
The Right Honorable Peter Beattie |
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The address was attended by several community members, students,
faculty and staff |
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