Sir William McMahon | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 1966 | |
| 20th Prime Minister of Australia | |
| In office 10 March 1971 – 5 December 1972 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor‑General | Sir Paul Hasluck |
| Deputy | Doug Anthony |
| Preceded by | John Gorton |
| Succeeded by | Gough Whitlam |
| 4th Leader of the Liberal Party | |
| In office 10 March 1971 – 20 December 1972 | |
| Deputy | John Gorton Billy Snedden |
| Preceded by | John Gorton |
| Succeeded by | Billy Snedden |
| Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party | |
| In office 20 January 1966 – 10 March 1971 | |
| Leader | Harold Holt John Gorton |
| Preceded by | Harold Holt |
| Succeeded by | John Gorton |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 12 November 1969 – 22 March 1971 | |
| Prime Minister | John Gorton Himself |
| Preceded by | Gordon Freeth |
| Succeeded by | Les Bury |
| Treasurer of Australia | |
| In office 26 January 1966 – 11 November 1969 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Holt John McEwen John Gorton |
| Preceded by | Harold Holt |
| Succeeded by | Les Bury |
| Vice-President of the Executive Council | |
| In office 10 June 1964 – 26 January 1966 | |
| Prime Minister | Robert Menzies |
| Preceded by | Bill Spooner |
| Succeeded by | Alan Hulme |
| Minister for Labour and National Service | |
| In office 10 December 1958 – 26 January 1966 | |
| Prime Minister | Robert Menzies |
| Preceded by | Athol Townley |
| Succeeded by | Hugh Robertson |
| Minister for Primary Industry | |
| In office 11 January 1956 – 10 December 1958 | |
| Prime Minister | Robert Menzies |
| Preceded by | John McEwen |
| Succeeded by | Charles Adermann |
| Minister for Social Services | |
| In office 9 July 1954 – 28 February 1956 | |
| Prime Minister | Robert Menzies |
| Preceded by | Athol Townley |
| Succeeded by | Hugh Robertson |
| Minister for the Navy Minister for the Air Force | |
| In office 17 July 1951 – 9 July 1954 | |
| Prime Minister | Robert Menzies |
| Preceded by | Philip McBride |
| Succeeded by | Josiah Francis (Navy) Athol Townley (Air Force) |
| Father of the House | |
| In office 20 September 1980 – 5 January 1982 | |
| Preceded by | Clyde Cameron |
| Succeeded by | Malcolm Fraser |
| Member of the Parliament of Australia for Lowe | |
| In office 10 December 1949 – 4 January 1982 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Michael Maher |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William McMahon 23 February 1908 Redfern, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 31 March 1988 (aged 80) Potts Point, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, including Julian |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Australian Imperial Force |
| Years of service | 1940–1945 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | 6th Division |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
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|---|---|---|
Term of government (1971–1972)
Ministries Elections  |
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Sir William McMahon[a] GCMG CH PC (23 February 1908 – 31 March 1988) also called Billy McMahon was an Australian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. He was a government minister for over 21 years, the longest continuous service in Australian history.
McMahon was born and raised in Sydney, and worked as a commercial lawyer before entering politics. He served in the Australian Army during World War II, reaching the rank of major. After the war's end he returned to university to complete an economics degree. McMahon was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1949 federal election. Robert Menzies promoted him to the ministry in 1951 and added him to cabinet in 1956. He held several different portfolios in the Menzies government, most notably as Minister for Labour and National Service from 1958 to 1966. In that capacity, he oversaw the reintroduction of conscription in 1964.
In 1966, Menzies retired and was replaced as prime minister by Harold Holt. McMahon then succeeded Holt as deputy leader of the Liberal Party. He was appointed Treasurer in the Holt government, and over the following three years oversaw a large reduction in the national deficit. After Holt's death in 1967, McMahon wished to contest the Liberal leadership but had his candidacy vetoed by John McEwen, the leader of the Country Party. The new prime minister was John Gorton. McMahon initially continued on as Treasurer in the Gorton government, but in 1969 was demoted to Minister for External Affairs after an unsuccessful challenge for the leadership. He eventually replaced Gorton in March 1971 following Gorton’s resignation, winning a vote against Billy Snedden.
McMahon became prime minister at the age of 63, and remains the oldest non-interim prime minister to take office. His government has been described by the Australian Dictionary of Biography as "a blend of cautious innovation and fundamental orthodoxy". It continued many of the policies of its immediate predecessors, such as the phased withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam. In its final year it faced high inflation and unemployment. Gough Whitlam's Labor Party defeated McMahon at the 1972 federal election, ending 23 consecutive years of Coalition rule. No other Australian prime minister has served for longer without winning a general election. He resigned the Liberal leadership, but remained in parliament until 1982 as a backbencher.
McMahon has been described as one of Australia's worst prime ministers by Australian political scientists and historians,[1][2][3][4] and after leaving office several of his former colleagues openly criticised his leadership style and personal character. Whitlam, his successor, acknowledged him as "an extraordinarily skilful, resourceful and tenacious politician", and credited him with having prevented a larger margin of defeat in 1972.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Abjorensen, Norman; Australia's Top 10 PMs Archived 29 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine, The Canberra Times, 5 December 1992. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ Walker, Tony; Koutsoukis, Jason; "The good, the bad and the couldabeens", The Australian Financial Review, 3 January 2001.
- ^ Prime ministers' rank and file Archived 14 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine, The Age, 18 December 2004. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ Strangio, Paul (2013). "Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The Australian Experience". In Strangio, Paul; 't Hart, Paul; Walter, James (eds.). Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance: Comparative Perspectives. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199666423.