| This Mere Men article has not been expanded past 1952 yet. |
| Robert Menzies | |
|---|---|
| |
| Prime Minister of Australia | |
| In office 10 December 1949 – 1958 | |
| Monarch | George VI Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Ben Chifley |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Calwell |
| In office 26 April 1939 – 28 September 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Earle Page |
| Succeeded by | Ben Chifley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Gordon Menzies 20 December 1894 Jeparit, Victoria |
| Died | 15 May 1978 (aged 83) Australia |
| Political party | United Australia Party Liberal Party of Australia |
| Spouse(s) | Pattie Leckie (m. 1920) |
| Children | 4 |
Robert Gordon Menzies (20 December 1894 – 15 May 1978) was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Prime Minister of Australia from 1939 to 1946 and 1949 to 1958. He held office as the leader of the United Australia Party in his first term, and subsequently as the inaugural leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Early career and the first government[]
Robert Menzies was born on 20 December 1894 in Jeparit, Victoria. He went on to study law at the University of Melbourne and became one of Melbourne's leading lawyers. He then became involved in state politics and became Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1932 to 1934. He then transferred to Federal Parliament and subsequently became Attorney-General of Australia and Minister for Industry in the government of Joseph Lyons. In April 1939, following Lyons's death, Menzies was elected leader of the United Australia Party and sworn in as Prime Minister. He soon renegotiated a coalition with the Country Party and, despite initially being supportive of the British appeasement policy, he immediately declared war on Germany in September 1939.
In the 1940 election, his coalition defeated the opposition Labor Party, but lost its majority, relying on the support of independents as John Curtin, the Leader of the Opposition, refused offers of a war coalition. During the war, Menzies travelled to the United Kingdom several times and convinced his British counterpart Leopold Amery to strengthen the Singaporean defences. Nevertheless, his position back in Australia began deteriorating as factionalism started to consume the UAP. Following the fall of Port Moresby to the Japanese forces, just before the 1943 election, the Labor Party under Curtin reluctantly entered a war coalition under Menzies’ leadership. Nevertheless, Curtin rejected any proposals to postpone the election or to run on a common ticket. UAP narrowly won the election and the war coalition was resumed under Menzies. During the Japanese attacks on northern and eastern Australia he also began making radio broadcasts to the population.
Opposition and the second government[]
The war coalition broke up in the summer of 1945, shortly before Curtin’s sudden death, due to disagreements on Australian involvement in the invasion of Japan. In the subsequent 1946 election, Menzies’ UAP was defeated by the Labor Party and its leader Ben Chifley became Menzies’ successor as Prime Minister. Division within the UAP also forced Menzies to step down as the party leader, but he remained active in radio, continuing to make broadcasts to the population. In 1948, after it became clear that the UAP might not survive the next election, Menzies formed the new Liberal Party of Australia, which quickly included the rest of the collapsing UAP. After defeating Chifley’s Labor party in 1949, Menzies was again made Prime Minister of Australia, although the Labor party remained in a position where it could effectively block Menzies’ legislation. Menzies also often clashed with the Governor-General, Herbert Vere Evatt.
In 1950, Menzies submitted a banking bill to the Australian parliament, but the ALP-dominated Senate refused to pass it. Menzies therefore requested that Evatt calls a double dissolution election to solve the deadlock, but Evatt, who disliked Menzies, refused. Menzies’ government however won the subsequent motion of no confidence, which resulted in a constitutional crisis. Ultimately, Menzies wrote to George VI and requested Evatt’s dismissal, which was carried out. Evatt’s successor Alec Douglas-Home then called an early election for 1952.