Bob Hawke, a transformative and charismatic left-wing lawmaker with a "larrikin' streak who served as Australian prime minister from 1983 to 1991, died on Thursday aged 89, his family said.
"Today we lost Bob Hawke, a great Australian — many would say the greatest Australian of the postwar era," his wife and former biographer, Blanche d'Alpuget, said in a statement.
While others may have struggled to dismiss a reputation for boisterous, if well-meaning, behavior, silver-haired Hawke said it helped him win favor with working-class voters.