The Right Honourable Joseph Lyons CH | |
---|---|
Chancellor Lyons in 1926 | |
23rd Chancellor of the Empire of Cygnia | |
In office 3 January 1933 – 7 April 1939 | |
Monarch | George III Edward II George IV |
Deputy | Earle Page |
Preceded by | James Scullin |
Succeeded by | Earle Page |
36th Premier of Tasmania | |
In office 25 October 1921 – 15 June 1926 | |
Governor | James O'Grady |
Preceded by | Walter Lee |
Succeeded by | John McPhee |
Member of the Cygnian House of Representatives for Wilmot | |
In office 3 January 1929 – 7 April 1939 | |
Preceded by | Llewellyn Atkinson |
Succeeded by | Lancelot 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
|
|