Aussie Leader to Retire Next August
SYDNEY, Australia — Sir John Bjelke-Petersen, Australia’s most volatile and enduring political leader, will retire next August after finally being brought to heel by the party he ruled with an iron fist for more than 19 years.
The maverick 76-year-old announced last week that he would step down Aug. 8, 1988--20 years to the day after he became premier of the northern state of Queensland.
Mounting annoyance with the premier’s personal style and his head-in-the-sand attitude toward such concerns as AIDS and conservation had aroused the opposition and members of his own party, leading to the retirement pledge.
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