Lionel Bowen

Lionel Frost Bowen was born at Ultimo in Sydney on 28th December 1922, and raised by his mother. He was educated locally, at Marist Brother Randwick, but the need for employment caused him to leave school in 1937 aged 15. He later matriculated at night school at Sydney Technical College. Lionel Bowen studied law at Sydney University and practiced as a solicitor in Sydney before becoming a Federal minister in 1972.

In 1948 at the age of 25, Lionel entered local government. He served as a West Ward alderman on Randwick Council until 1962. During this period he was mayor twice, in 1951 and 1955. One of Mr Bowen's major feats in local government was his, and fellow alderman Harry Jensen's, success in seeing Windgap School for the Intellectually Disabled established at Coogee in 1954.

In 1962 Bowen ran for the NSW Legislative Assembly, was elected to the NSW Parliament and served as MLA for Randwick until 1969. He then transferred from State to Federal politics and was elected the member for Kingsford-Smith. For the next twenty-one years Mr Bowen represented the Kingsford-Smith electorate in Federal parliament and during that period held a variety of positions both in government and opposition.

Between 1972 and 1975, he took a leading role in the Whitlam Government, serving in the Federal Labor government as Postmaster-General, Special Minister of State and Minister for Manufacturing Industry. During this period he led the first Australian Parliamentary delegation to the Peoples' Republic of China following Australia establishing diplomatic relations in 1972. In 1977 Bowen was elected Deputy Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party. Following Bowen's election as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and minister for Trade in 1983 he led trade missions to Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, USA, China, Brazil, Italy, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria. In 1985 he relinquished the Trade ministry to become Attorney-General and Minister assisting the Prime Minister in Commonwealth-State relations.

Lionel Bowen's ministerial responsibilities as Attorney-General included constitutional reform, human rights, legal services to government, family law, consumer affairs, censorship, legal aid, business practices, copyright and bankruptcy. He was Minister responsible for national security matters involving A.S.I.O. Lionel Bowen retired from Federal parliament in March 1990. Lionel, with wife Claire, lived with their five sons and three daughters in the Kensington house he was brought up in. 

In 1991 Lionel Bowen was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to politics and the community. In 2001 he was awarded the Centenary medal for service to the community.

Lionel Bowen died at home on April 1, 2012 aged 89 years. More than 1000 people gathered at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney for the State Funeral to say farewell, with state and federal politicians past and present from all sides of the political spectrum in attendance.

The Bowen Library, named in appreciation of the contribution Lionel Bowen has made to the local community, was officially opened on Sunday 25 August 1991, and renamed the Lionel Bowen Library in 2016.