Former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam who was dismissed in 1975 crisis dies at age 98

FILE - In this Nov. 7, 2005 file photo, former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam addresses his audience at a book launch in Sydney. Whitlam, a flamboyant Australian prime minister and controversial social reformer whose grip on power was cut short by a bitter constitutional crisis, died on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014, his children said. He was 98. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File) (The Associated Press)

CANBERRA, Australia – Australia's 21st Prime Minister Edward Gough Whitlam, who was dismissed from office in a constitutional crisis in 1975, has died. He was 98 years old.

Known as Gough Whitlam, he led his reformist center-left Labor Party into power at elections in 1972 for the first time since 1949.

He was dismissed in 1975 by Governor-General Sir John Kerr, who represents the British Monarch — Australia's head of state.

Whitlam's four children confirmed the death in Sydney on Tuesday in a statement.

They described him as "a loving and generous father."