Latham, Mark William (1961-…), served as leader of the Australian Labor Party from December 2003 to January 2005. During that time, the Labor Party was the official opposition party in Australia’s House of Representatives. As a politician, Latham favored government funding in such areas as education and health care and stressed the importance of equal opportunity for all Australians. He also supported free-market policies. During his political career, Latham was noted for his direct, plain-speaking style and for his use of Australian slang.
Latham was born on Feb. 28, 1961, in Sydney, New South Wales. He grew up in public housing in Green Valley, a working-class suburb on the western outskirts of Sydney. Latham joined the Labor Party at the age of 17. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Sydney in 1982. Following graduation, Latham worked as a researcher for former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and later as an adviser to Bob Carr. At the time, Carr was the opposition leader in the New South Wales state Parliament.
Latham became a member of the City Council of Liverpool, on Sydney’s western fringe, in 1987. He served as mayor of Liverpool from 1991 to 1994. In 1994, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives for the nearby electoral district of Werriwa. From 1996 to 1998, and from 2001 to 2005, he served in the federal shadow ministry. The shadow ministry is a senior group within the official opposition party that leads opposition responses to government policies. The public views it as the alternative to the current government. Latham resigned as Labor Party leader and as a member of Parliament in January 2005, after an attack of pancreatitis, an illness of the pancreas. Latham has written and edited a number of books. His best-known book is Civilising Global Capital: New Thinking for Australian Labor (1998).
