Josiah Thomas (politician)

The Honourable Josiah Thomas
Minister for External Affairs
In office 14 October 1911 – 24 June 1913
Prime Minister	Andrew Fisher
Preceded by	Lee Batchelor
Succeeded by	Paddy Glynn
Postmaster-General of Australia
In office 29 April 1910 – 14 October 1911
Prime Minister	Andrew Fisher
Preceded by	John Quick
Succeeded by	Charlie Frazer
In office 13 November 1908 – 2 June 1909
Prime Minister	Andrew Fisher
Preceded by	Samuel Mauger
Succeeded by	John Quick
Senator for New South Wales
In office 14 November 1925 – 30 June 1929
In office 1 July 1917 – 30 June 1923
Member of the Australian Parliament for Barrier
In office 29 March 1901 – 26 March 1917
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	Michael Considine
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Alma
In office 17 July 1894 – 11 June 1901
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	William Williams
Personal details
Born	(1863-04-28)28 April 1863 Camborne, Cornwall, England
Died	5 February 1933(1933-02-05) (aged 69) Croydon Park, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Labor (to 1917) Nationalist (from 1917)
Spouses	Henrietta Ingleby ​ ​ (m. 1889⁠–⁠1901)​ Clara Ingleby ​ (m. 1909)​
Occupation	Miner, trade unionist
Signature

Josiah Thomas (28 April 1863 – 5 February 1933) was an Australian politician. He was elected to the House of Representatives at the inaugural 1901 federal election, representing the Labor Party. Thomas served as a minister in Andrew Fisher's first two governments, as Postmaster-General (1908–1909, 1910–1911) and Minister for External Affairs (1911–1913). He joined the Nationalist Party after the 1916 Labor split and transferred to the Senate at the 1917 election, serving as a Senator for New South Wales from 1917 to 1923 and from 1925 to 1929.