Paul Keating was Australia's 29th Prime Minister and held office from 20 December 1991 to 11 March 1996.

Paul Keating was born on 18 January 1944 at Bankstown, Sydney, into a working class Catholic family. Paul Keating first entered parliament when he won the House of Representatives seat of Blaxland in 1969.

He was only 25 years old, making him one of the youngest federal parliamentarians. He joined the ALP and in 1968 became a research officer with the Federated Municipal Employees Union. An admirer of Jack Lang and a member of the NSW right, Keating entered federal parliament as the member for Blaxland in 1969.

He was the Minister for the NT (1975) in the last weeks of the Whitlam Government. In opposition Keating held the shadow portfolios of agriculture (1976), minerals and energy (1980 - 1983) and treasury (1983).

In government from March 1983, Keating as Treasurer and Hawke as Prime Minister floated the Australian dollar, deregulated financial markets and put into place the Prices and Incomes Accord.

Keating challenged Hawke for the Labor Party leadership in mid 1991 but was defeated and retired to the back bench. He challenged again in December 1991 and won.

The Keating government pursued economic growth as a precondition for improving the daily lives of all Australians. Keating's initiatives as Prime Minister included the passage of Indigenous land rights legislation, encouraging the process of reconciliation between Aboriginal and other Australians, and supporting the writing of a 'new national story' that acknowledged the conquest and capture of the continent from Indigenous peoples.

The government also established the Republican Advisory Committee to facilitate debate on the possibility of an Australian republic, supported reform of vocational education and training, and introduced policies encouraging economic competitiveness.

As Prime Minister Paul Keating outlined plans for Australia in the Asia-Pacific region, for Aboriginal reconciliation and for the creation of an Australian republic.

As Treasurer and as Prime Minister, Paul Keating transformed Australia's financial system and economy. As Treasurer from 1983 to 1991 in the government of Bob Hawke, Paul Keating was the architect of Australia's economic deregulation.

The government floated the Australian dollar and allowed foreign banks to operate in Australia from 1983