Arthur Meighen

Arthur Meighen
Meighen c. 1920s
9th Prime Minister of Canada
In office
June 29, 1926 – September 25, 1926
MonarchGeorge V
Governor GeneralThe Lord Byng of Vimy
Preceded byW. L. Mackenzie King
Succeeded byW. L. Mackenzie King
In office
July 10, 1920 – December 29, 1921
MonarchGeorge V
Governors General
Preceded byRobert Borden
Succeeded byW. L. Mackenzie King
Leader of the Conservative Party
In office
November 12, 1941 – December 9, 1942
Preceded byRichard Hanson (interim)
Succeeded byJohn Bracken
In office
July 10, 1920 – September 24, 1926
Preceded byRobert Borden
Succeeded byHugh Guthrie (interim)
Leader of the Government in the Senate
Minister Without Portfolio
In office
February 3, 1932 – October 22, 1935
Prime MinisterR.B. Bennett
Preceded byWellington Bartley Willoughby
Succeeded byRaoul Dandurand
Canadian Senator
from Ontario
In office
February 3, 1932 – January 16, 1942
Nominated byR.B. Bennett
Appointed byEarl of Bessborough
Minister of the Interior
Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs
In office
October 12, 1917 – July 10, 1920
Prime MinisterRobert Borden
Preceded byWilliam James Roche
Succeeded byJames Alexander Lougheed
Solicitor General of Canada
In office
June 26, 1913 – October 3, 1917
Prime MinisterRobert Borden
Preceded byvacant
Succeeded byHugh Guthrie (acting)
Member of the House of Commons of Canada
In office
January 26, 1922 – September 14, 1926
In office
October 26, 1908 – December 6, 1921
Personal details
Born(1874-06-16)June 16, 1874
Anderson, Ontario, Canada
DiedAugust 5, 1960(1960-08-05) (aged 86)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Resting placeSt. Marys Cemetery, St. Marys, Ontario
Political partyConservative (1908–1917, 1922–1942)
Unionist (1917–1922)
Progressive Conservative (1942–1960)
Spouse
Jessie Isabel Cox
(m. 1904)
ChildrenTheodore Meighen
Maxwell Meighen
Lillian Meighen Wright
RelativesMichael Meighen (grandson)
EducationUniversity College, Toronto (BA)
Signature

Arthur Meighen PC QC (/ˈmən/ MEE-ən; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921 and from June to September 1926. He led the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1926 and from 1941 to 1942.

Meighen was born in St. Marys, Ontario. His family came from County Londonderry, Ireland. He studied mathematics at the University of Toronto, and then trained to be a lawyer. After qualifying to practise law, he moved to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Meighen entered the House of Commons of Canada in 1908, and in 1913 was appointed to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Robert Borden. Meighen prominently served as solicitor general, minister of the interior, and superintendent-general of Indian affairs.

In July 1920, Meighen succeeded Borden as Conservative leader and prime minister – the first born after Confederation. Meighen suffered a heavy defeat in the 1921 election to Mackenzie King and the Liberal Party. Meighen lost his seat but re-entered Parliament through a 1922 by-election and remained Opposition leader. In the 1925 election, the Conservatives won a plurality of seats, just eight short of a majority government, but Mackenzie King decided to hold onto power with the support of the Progressive Party. Meighen's brief second term as prime minister in 1926 came about as the result of the "King–Byng Affair," being invited to form a ministry after Mackenzie King was refused an election request and resigned. He soon lost a no-confidence motion, however, and faced another federal election. Meighen lost his own seat, and the Conservatives lost 24, as Mackenzie King's Liberals re-took power.

After losing the 1926 election, Meighen resigned as party leader and quit politics to return to his law practice. He was appointed to the Senate in 1932, and under Prime Minister R. B. Bennett served as leader of the Government in the Senate and minister without portfolio until 1935. In 1941, Meighen became leader of the Conservatives for a second time, following Robert Manion's resignation. Meighen unsuccessfully attempted to re-enter the House of Commons in a by-election for York South and resigned as leader shortly thereafter. He returned to practising law afterwards.