Bob Carr

Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party. He later entered federal politics as a New South Wales senator, and served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2013. Following his departure from politics, he served as the director of the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) from 2014 to 2019 at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

Carr was born in Sydney and attended the University of New South Wales. Before entering politics he worked as a journalist. Carr entered the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1983, and the following year became a cabinet minister. He served under Neville Wran and Barrie Unsworth until the Labor government was defeated in a landslide at the 1988 state election. Carr subsequently replaced Unsworth as party leader, thus becoming Leader of the Opposition. He led Labor to the 1991 election, where it recovered many of the seats it had lost in 1988, and then became premier after a narrow victory in 1995.

As Premier, Carr was known for his emphasis on conservation and his use of public–private partnerships to fund infrastructure projects. His government oversaw much of the planning for the 2000 Summer Olympics, which Sydney hosted. However, he was criticised for allowing poker machines to become widespread in pubs across the state, which led to an increase in gambling addiction. Carr was re-elected twice, in 1999 and 2003, eventually resigning as Premier in 2005 after 10 years in office. Only Henry Parkes served as Premier for longer, and no one has served a longer consecutive term. Carr remained a public figure after leaving the Premiership, and entered federal politics in 2012 at the urging of Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He served as Foreign Minister under both Gillard and Kevin Rudd, but retired following Labor's defeat at the 2013 federal election. Carr is the last Premier of NSW to have a served a full term.