Des Corcoran
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James Desmond "Des" Corcoran (1929 - 3 January 2004), Australian politician, was Premier of South Australia between February 15, 1979 and September 18, 1979.
Corcoran joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in 1941. He served in the Australian Army and fought in the Korean War (where he was mentioned in dispatches), as well as spending service time in Japan and Malaya. He left the Army in 1961 and was elected to the House of Assembly (the lower house of South Australia's state Parliament) in 1962.
After the defeat of the ALP at the 1968 election, Corcoran became Deputy Opposition Leader under Don Dunstan. When Labor won the 1970 election, he became Deputy Premier under Dunstan and assumed many ministerial portfolios including Marine and Harbours and Public Works. He became Premier on February 15, 1979 after Dunstan's shock resignation and assumed the positions of Treasurer and Minister for Ethnic Affairs. Spurred by positive opinion polls, he called an early election, but after a disastrous campaign, the election was lost with an 11% swing to the Liberal Party.
Corcoran retired from politics in 1982 and died from cancer in 2004.
| Preceded by: Don Dunstan | Premier of South Australia 1979 | Succeeded by: David Tonkin |