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Donald James Grimes (4 October 1937 – 20 November 2021) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1974 to 1987, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). In the Hawke government he held ministerial office as Minister for Social Security (1983–1984) and Minister for Community Services (1984–1987). He was a general practitioner before entering politics.
Grimes was elected to the Senate at the 1974 federal election, taking office immediately due to the preceding double dissolution. In 1976, he was elected to Gough Whitlam's shadow cabinet with the sixth-highest number of votes. He was given the social security portfolio. In March 1980, Grimes was suspended from parliament for 24 hours for using the words "pimp" and "fascist" and accusing Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser of "setting up" a demonstration outside a nursing home at which nine people were arrested.
After the ALP won the 1983 election, Grimes was appointed Minister for Social Security in the Hawke government. He was also elected Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate. In a cabinet reshuffle in 1984 he was given the new position of Minister for Community Services. Grimes underwent a triple bypass operation in June 1985 and returned to work in August.
In October 1986, Grimes announced that he would not seek re-election. He resigned from Parliament in April 1987, but the casual vacancy was not immediately filled because the Tasmanian Parliament stalemated over the appointment of the Labor Party's nominee as replacement senator, John Devereux.
Grimes died on 20 November 2021 at the age of 84.
Later life
Between 1987 and 1991, Grimes was Australian Ambassador to the Netherlands. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 1992. In May 1992, he was announced as the chairman of the Australian National Council on AIDS. He was Chairman of South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service from September 1995 to February 2004. pg4
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Categories: 1937 Births, 2021 Deaths, People From Albury, People Educated At Fort Street High School, Members Of The Cabinet Of Australia, Australian Labor Party Members Of The Parliament Of Australia, Members Of The Australian Senate For Tasmania, Ambassadors Of Australia To The Netherlands, 20th-century Australian Politicians, Officers Of The Order Of Australia
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