John Button

John Norman Button ( * June 30, 1933 in Ballarat, Victoria, † April 8, 2008 in Melbourne, Victoria) was an Australian jurist and politician of the Australian Labor Party (ALP ).

From 1974 to 1993 Button was a member of the Australian Senate. From March 11 1983 to March 24, 1993 - during the Labor governments of Bob Hawke ( March 1983-December 1991 ) and Paul Keating ( December 1991-March 1993 ) - he was Minister of Economy and Trade (Minister for Industry and Commerce ) and Minister for Industry, Technology and Commerce (Minister for Industry, technology and Commerce ).

Life

John Button was in Ballarat, an approx. 86,000 population city 110 km north-west of Melbourne, was born. Buttons father, Norman Button was from London, England, emigrated to Sydney, had studied at the University of Sydney and became minister of the Australian Presbyterian Church. He later rose to chairman of the Church College of Victoria. In 1924 he married Dorothy Grubb, whose ancestors had also emigrated from England to Australia. Norman and Dorothy Button settled in Ballarat, where John Button and his two sisters were born. John Button went first to the Ballarat College before winning a scholarship and 1946-1950, Geelong College, Newtown, a suburb of Geelong, visited. Here John Button awakened passion for the football club from Geelong ( " Geelong Cats " ), a fascination that remained until his death in him. He finished college successfully, you could get a scholarship again and studied law and arts at the University of Melbourne. In 1955 he received his degree in both subjects ( Law and arts).

After graduating, he first went to Europe for a few years; he lived in England and Italy. After his return to Australia, he joined the prestigious 1959, specializing in employment Melbourne law firm Maurice Blackburn & Co at. He remained in this law firm, was a senior partner and left it until he was in 1974 for the Australian Labor Party (ALP ), which he had joined in 1952, elected to the Senate.

Private

1960 married John Button his first wife Marj, whom he had met during his studies and met again later. The couple had three sons - James, David and Nick. David died in 1982 at the age of 19 from an overdose of drugs. After his marriage was divorced with Marj, married Button 1985 the actress Dorothy O'Neil. The second marriage ended in divorce in 2003. The following years lived John Button with his new girlfriend Joan Grant.