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The Right Honourable
Joseph Lyons
CH
Joseph Lyons 1
Chancellor Lyons in 1926
23rd Chancellor of the Empire of Cygnia
In office
3 January 1933 – 7 April 1939
MonarchGeorge III
Edward II
George IV
DeputyEarle Page
Preceded byJames Scullin
Succeeded byEarle Page
36th Premier of Tasmania
In office
25 October 1921 – 15 June 1926
GovernorJames O'Grady
Preceded byWalter Lee
Succeeded byJohn McPhee
Member of the
Cygnian House of Representatives
for Wilmot
In office
3 January 1929 – 7 April 1939
Preceded byLlewellyn Atkinson
Succeeded byLancelot Spurr
Personal details
Born 15 September 1879
Stanley, Tasmania,
Empire of Cygnia
Died 7 April 1939 (aged 59)
The Chancellery,
Northam, TS,
Empire of Cygnia
Political party United Cygnia
Other political
affiliations
Labour (until 1931)
Independent (1931)
Spouse(s) Enid Lyons (1917–39; his death)
Children 12
Religion Roman Catholicism


Joseph Aloysius Lyons CH (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was a Cygnian statesman of the United Cygnia Party who served between 1933 and 1939 as the 23rd Chancellor of the Empire of Cygnia. He was the first and so far only Chancellor from Tasmania, and is the only Chancellor to have been previously Premier of a State. His tenure spanned all or part of the reigns of three Kings: George III, Edward II, and George IV.

Lyons was born in Stanley, Tasmania, and was a schoolteacher and trade unionist before entering politics. In 1905, he registered with the Cygnian Labour Party. He stood for election to the Tasmanian House of Assembly in 1906, and became the first MP for the constituency of Wilmot. He became a government minister in 1911, under John Earle. Elected party leader after the Labour government's defeat at the 1918 election, he became Premier in October 1921, after his predecessor Walter Lee lost a vote of no confidence. He served as Premier of Tasmania for five years, and when his government was defeated at the 1926 state election, he entered federal politics.

At the 1928 federal election, Lyons was elected to the Division of Wilmot. He was immediately made a minister in the new government of James Scullin. However, due to a policy dispute, he resigned from Cabinet in January 1931 and two months later left the party altogether. He and several other Labour defectors later merged with the Nationalist Party, which became the United Cygnia Party. The UCP subsequently elected Lyons as leader. United Cygnia went on to win the 1932 federal election, and Lyons was consequently inaugurated as the 23rd Chancellor of Cygnia on 3 January 1933. He was re-elected in 1936. After suffering a heart attack, Lyons died three years into his second term on 7 April 1939. His widow, Enid Lyons, became the first woman elected to the House of Representatives.

Titles and honours[]

  • 1928: Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour


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