McEwen ministry

McEwen ministry

43rd Ministry of Australia
Governor-General Lord Casey with the newly sworn in McEwen ministry
Date formed19 December 1967
Date dissolved10 January 1968
People and organisations
MonarchElizabeth II
Governor-GeneralLord Casey
Prime MinisterJohn McEwen
No. of ministers25
Member partyCountryLiberal coalition
Status in legislatureCoalition majority government
Opposition partyLabor
Opposition leaderGough Whitlam
History
Legislature term26th
PredecessorSecond Holt ministry
SuccessorFirst Gorton ministry

The McEwen ministry (CountryLiberal Coalition) was the 43rd ministry of the Government of Australia. It was led by the country's 18th prime minister, John McEwen. The McEwen ministry succeeded the Second Holt ministry, which dissolved on 19 December 1967 following the disappearance of former prime minister Harold Holt – the third and most recent occasion where a sitting prime minister died in office. Since McEwen was the head of the Country Party, it was a caretaker ministry until the senior partner in the Coalition, the Liberal Party, could elect a new leader. John Gorton was ultimately elected on 9 January 1968, and he was sworn in as prime minister along with his ministry the following day.[1]

As of 20 December 2020, Ian Sinclair and Peter Nixon are the last surviving members of the McEwen ministry. James Forbes, who died in 2019, was the last surviving Liberal minister, and Allen Fairhall, who died in 2006, was the last surviving Liberal Cabinet minister.

  1. ^ "Ministries and Cabinets". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2010.