Voting Station

Bob Hawke

Please vote to see the next celebrity.

World Leader

The Resume

    (December 9, 1929-May 16, 2019)
    Born in Bordertown, South Australia, Australia
    Union leader and politician
    President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (1969-80)
    Member of Parliament for Willis (1980-92)
    Head of the Australian Labor Party (1983-91)
    23rd Prime Minister of Australia (1983-91)

Why he might be annoying:

    Historian A.L. Rowse's description of his character traits: 'the aggressive individualism, the egoism, the touchiness, the liability to resentment, even a touch of vindictiveness.'
    He was accused by liberals in the party of 'hijacking' the Labor Party and moving it to the right.
    He had a contentious relationship with his successor as Labor leader and PM, Paul Keating, who called him 'an envious little bastard.'
    He proposed to his mistress (1978), then withdrew the offer, saying 'A divorce could cost Labor three percent.' (They married in 1995 after Hawke was out of politics.)
    For his 80th birthday, his second wife hired an exotic dancer to jump out of a cake and do a strip tease while wearing a mask of PM John Howard.

Why he might not be annoying:

    While a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he set a speed record by drinking a yard of ale (2.5 pints) in eleven seconds.
    He later said this feat may have been the greatest factor in his political success, by tying him to Australia's beer culture.
    His youngest child died in infancy (1963).
    His commitment to the cause of refuseniks (Jews in the Soviet Union who were denied permission to emigrate to Israel) led to an assassination plot against him by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (1974).
    During the celebration of Australia's victory in 1983 America's Cup, he declared, 'Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum.'
    He became the first Australian PM to support same-sex marriage (2012).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 28 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 42 Votes: 52.38% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 41 Votes: 56.10% Annoying