Arthur Gietzelt

The Honourable
Arthur Gietzelt
AO
The Honourable Arthur Gietzelt AO
	Gietzelt in the 1970s
Minister for Veterans' Affairs
	In office; 11 March 1983 – 24 July 1987
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke
Preceded by	Tony Messner
Succeeded by	Ben Humphreys
Senator for New South Wales
	In office; 1 July 1971 – 27 February 1989
Succeeded by	John Faulkner
Personal details
Born	28 December 1920; San Francisco, California, United States
Died	5 January 2014 (aged 93); Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse	Dawn Gietzelt
Relations	Ray Gietzelt (brother)
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Australian Army
Years of service	1941–1946
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	Royal Australian Engineers

Arthur Thomas Gietzelt, AO (28 December 1920 – 5 January 2014) was an Australian politician and minister.

Arthur Gietzelt was born in San Francisco^[1] of Australian-born parents, and educated at Hurstville High School in south-western Sydney. He served in the armed forces in New Guinea during World War II from 1941 to 1946^[2]^[3] along with his younger brother Ray Gietzelt.^[4]

Later, Gietzelt served 15 years (1956–1971) in local government as a councillor of Sutherland Shire Council; for nine of those years he was shire president or mayor. As part of the council, he opposed the creation of a second Sydney airport at Towra Point.^[5] He was elected as a Senator for New South Wales at the 1970 Senate election.^[6]

In 1976 Gietzelt joined Jim Cairns, Barry Egan and Bridget Gilling as a member of the Tribunal on Homosexuals and Discrimination. He was appointed Minister for Veterans' Affairs in March 1983 in the first Hawke Ministry and held that position until July 1987. He was a joint Father of the Senate from 1987 until his departure from parliament. He resigned from the Senate in February 1989.^[7]

From the 1940s to at least the 1980s, Gietzelt was a secret member of the Communist Party of Australia. This has been established conclusively through official ASIO and Communist Party records, and extensive testimony from his former political colleagues including Bob Hawke and Bill Hayden.^[8]

Gietzelt was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1992 for "service to the Australian Parliament and to local government".^[9]

Gietzelt died on 5 January 2014, aged 93.^[10]

His younger brother was Ray Gietzelt, a famous Australian trade unionist who led the Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union of Australia (FMWU; later known as United Voice) from 1955 to 1984.

References

^ Biography for GIETZELT, the Hon. Arthur Thomas, AO, ParlInfo.
^ Who's who in Australia. North Melbourne: Crown Content. 2008. p. 2303. ISBN 978-1-74095-160-9.
^ GIETZELT, ARTHUR THOMAS Archived 7 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine, WW2 Nominal Roll, 2002.
^ NSW Parliament, The Hon Lynda Voltz, Tribute to Ray Gietzelt, 23 October 2012 Archived 7 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Arthur Gietzelt's left leanings held fast in political life". 2 February 2014.
^ Singleton, Gwynneth (2017). "GIETZELT, Arthur Thomas (1920–2014)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
^ "Members of the Senate since 1901". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
^ Bramston, Troy (19 February 2022). "The double allegiance of a secret communist operative". The Australian. Retrieved 12 July 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ "Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) entry for The Honourable Arthur Thomas Gietzelt". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 26 January 1992. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
^ "Shire stalwart Arthur Gietzelt dies at 93". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.

Political offices
Preceded by Tony Messner	Minister for Veterans' Affairs 1983–87	Succeeded by Ben Humphreys
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Doug McClelland	Father of the Australian Senate 1987–1989 with Peter Durack	Succeeded by Peter Durack