Margaret Whitlam

Margaret Whitlam AO (born 19 November 1919) is a prominent Australian personality and the wife of former Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam. She is a published author, social worker and former champion swimmer, having represented Australia at the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney.

Margaret Elaine Dovey was born in Sydney, New South Wales, the daughter of Wilfred Robert "Bill" Dovey (1894–1969), a New South Wales Supreme Court judge.^[1] She married Gough Whitlam in 1942, and together they have three sons and a daughter. One of their sons, Nicholas Whitlam, became a prominent banker and a controversial figure in his own right. Another son, Tony Whitlam, was briefly a federal MP.

Margaret Whitlam was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1983, for services to the community.^[2]

In 2006, she criticised Janette Howard, wife of then-Prime Minister John Howard, for what she considered a lack of commitment to community activities.^[3] She withdrew the comments (but stopped short of apologising to Mrs Howard) after attracting widespread condemnation from both sides of politics.

Bibliography

• My Day (Collins: 1974)
• My Other World (Allen & Unwin: 2001)

References

1. ^ About NSW
2. ^ It's an Honour
3. ^ AM - Wives at war in Margaret Whitlam biography

External links

• Australian Women Biographical Entry

See also

• Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia

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Name	Whitlam, Margaret
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Date of birth	19 November 1919
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