Former Victorian premier Dan Andrews has been hospitalised with an unknown illness, according to reports.
Mr Andrews was admitted to Monash Medical Centre in Clayton several days ago and remains under treatment, the Herald Sun reported. No official details have been released about the nature of his condition.
While the cause of the illness has not been disclosed, Mr Andrews is a long-time smoker. His office has not issued a statement on his health.
The hospitalisation comes three months after a controversial visit to Beijing, where Mr Andrews attended a military parade alongside leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The appearance drew criticism given the presence of several authoritarian figures.
Mr Andrews said at the time that he was in China in a private capacity rather than a diplomatic one, defending the visit as an opportunity to engage with regional leaders.
“I’ve said for years that a constructive relationship with China – our largest trading partner – is in Australia’s national interest and hundreds of thousands of Australian jobs depend on it. That hasn’t changed,” he said in a statement in September.
The former premier previously suffered a serious medical episode in 2021 while on a family holiday on the Mornington Peninsula, when he experienced respiratory failure and sustained spinal injuries after a fall. He narrowly avoided a life-changing injury and underwent months of rehabilitation.
That incident occurred two years before Mr Andrews – Victoria’s longest-serving premier – abruptly resigned from office in 2023 after almost a decade leading the state.
Image: Nine News
