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The Australian Labor Party held a leadership election on 22 November 2001, following the resignation of Kim Beazley after the party's defeat at the 2001 federal election. Deputy leader and Shadow Treasurer Simon Crean was elected unopposed as Beazley's replacement, thus becoming Leader of the Opposition.
Beazley, the party's leader since 1996, announced his resignation on the night of 10 November 2001, when it became clear that his party had lost the election to John Howard's Coalition. The following day, Crean announced that he would contest the leadership. Shadow Health Minister Jenny Macklin, Shadow Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner, Shadow Industry Minister Carmen Lawrence, and Manager of Opposition Business Bob McMullan were also seen as possible contenders.[1][2] On 12 November, Macklin announced her intention to stand for the deputy leadership. She and Crean were reported to be running as a ticket, representing the Labor Left and Labor Right factions, respectively.[3] No other MPs declared themselves candidates for either position over the following week, and Crean and Macklin were consequently elected unopposed when the Labor caucus met on 22 November.[4] Macklin became the first woman to hold a leadership position in the Labor Party.[5]
Crean struggled in the polls against Howard and by mid 2003 moves were being made to replace Crean with Beazley.
After surviving a spill in June, Crean was forced to resign in December with Mark Latham narrowly defeating Beazley.
