Richard Keane

Richard Valentine Keane (14 February 1881 – 26 April 1946) was an Australian politician.

Keane was born in Beechworth, Victoria and, after his police constable father was transferred to Melbourne, was educated at Christian Brothers' College, St Kilda. When he was 16, he took a position as a clerk in Victorian Railways. In 1909 he married Ruby Thorne and they subsequently had a son and two daughters. From 1918 he was an officer holder in the Victorian Railways Union, which became part of the Australian Railways Union (ARU) in 1920. He was General Secretary of the ARU from 1925 to 1929. His wife died in 1923 and he married Millicent Dunn in 1940.Australian Dictionary of Biography
last=Rawson
first=Don
authorlink=
year=2002
id=A140688b
title= Keane, Richard Valentine (1881 - 1946)
accessdate=2007-11-28 ]

Political career

Keane was vice-president of the executive of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party in 1928 and its president in 1930 and from 1937 to 1938. In 1925, he stood unsuccessfully for the Australian Senate and the Victorian Legislative Council. In the October 1929 election, he was elected as the member for Bendigo in the Australian House of Representatives, but lost it at the October 1931 election. He was narrowly defeated for Bendigo at the 1934 election, but was elected to the Senate at the 1937 election. He became leader of the government in the Senate in 1943.

In October 1941, Keane was appointed Minister for Trade and Customs and Vice-President of the Executive Council in the first Curtin Ministry and was responsible for administering wartime rationing and price controls. In 1946, he travelled to the United States to terminate Australia's Lend-Lease arrangements but died in Washington, D.C., survived by his wife, their daughter and the children of his first marriage.

Notes

Persondata
NAME = Keane, Richard Valentine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH = 14 February 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH = Beechworth, Victoria, Australia
DATE OF DEATH = 26 April 1946
PLACE OF DEATH = Washington, D.C.