Arguably Bob Hawke is among the most charismatic of Australian prime ministers During his first term in office Hawke gained the highest popularity rating of any prime minister since the introduction of public opinion polls. Under Bob Hawke, the Aus- tralian Labor Party won four elections in a row. After graduating from the University of Western Australia in 1952 with arts and law degrees Hawke won a Rhodes Scholarship and studied economics at Oxford University In 1958 he accepted a position as research officer and advocate with the Australian Council of Trade Unions(ACTU). After rising through the ranks of the ACTU he served as its president from 1970 to 1980. In that position he had a very high public profile and acquired a reputation as an excellent con- ciliator, a reputation that he retains. "His greatest single contribution has been the great competence with which he's been able to articulate the case of the union movement(Pullan 2000, p. 220)