Peter Beattie
Peter Douglas Beattie (18 November 1952—) is an Australian former politician who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland, in office from 1998 to 2007. He was the Queensland leader of the Labor Party from 1996 to 2007.
Beattie was born in Sydney as the youngest of seven children. Following the death of his mother when he was four years old, he was raised by his grandmother at Atherton, a small town in North Queensland, and attended Atherton State High School.
Beattie moved to Brisbane to attend the University of Queensland, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Laws degree. He completed a Master of Arts degree from Queensland University of Technology, and then began practising as a lawyer. Prior to his election to parliament, Beattie was a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland.
Beattie was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly at the 1989 state election. He served as a Health Minister from 1995 to 1996 under Wayne Goss, and then replaced Goss as party leader following a change in government. As leader of the opposition, Beattie led the Labor Party back to power at the 1998 election, and won further victories at the 2001, 2004 and 2006 elections. He retired in 2007, succeeded by his deputy Anna Bligh.
Although he opposed euthanasia while serving as Queensland state premier, his views have changed; for example, in 2018, Beattie said:
“As I get older, I see friends and relatives who have gone through the pain of dying and I guess, in the end, my view has shifted. I believe we should have a dignity in life but also a dignity in death. I’d like the person involved who’s suffering the pain, provided they’ve got the mental capacity to make the decision, I’d like them to be able to at least have the choice.” (Price, 2018).
(via Wikipedia)
Price, S. (2018, January 25). The Alan Jones Breakfast Show: former Queensland premier calls for national approach to assisted dying [Radio broadcast]. 4BC. https://www.4bc.com.au/former-queensland-premier-calls-for-national-euthanasia/
