Seventh Menzies ministry

Seventh Menzies ministry
37th Ministry of Australia
The Cabinet of the Seventh Menzies ministry at their swearing-in
Date formed	11 January 1956
Date dissolved	10 December 1958
People and organisations
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Sir William Slim
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
No. of ministers	24
Member party	Liberal–Country coalition
Status in legislature	Coalition majority government
Opposition party	Labor
Opposition leader	H. V. Evatt
History
Election	10 December 1955
Outgoing election	22 November 1958
Legislature term	22nd
Predecessor	Sixth Menzies ministry
Successor	Eighth Menzies ministry

This article is part of a series about Robert Menzies
Early life State politics Member for Kooyong (1934–1966) 1938 Dalfram dispute United Australia Party spills 1939 1943 Prime Minister of Australia First term of government (1939–1941) Entry into WW2 Advisory War Council Liberal Party foundation Second term of government (1949–1966) ANZUS Communist Party ban 1951 Communist Party ban referendum Petrov Affair Royal Commission on Espionage Entry into Vietnam War Ministries First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Elections 1940 1946 1949 1951 1953 (Half-Senate) 1954 1955 1958 1961 1963 1964 (Half-Senate) The Forgotten People
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The Seventh Menzies ministry (Liberal–Country Coalition) was the 37th ministry of the Government of Australia. It was led by the country's 12th Prime Minister, Robert Menzies. The Seventh Menzies ministry succeeded the Sixth Menzies ministry, which dissolved on 11 January 1956 following the federal election that took place in the previous December. It is the first ministry to consist of a two-tier ministry, with only senior ministers being members of Cabinet, while the other ministers are in the outer ministry. With the exception of the Whitlam government and the caretaker First Fraser ministry, this practice has endured to this day. The ministry was replaced by the Eighth Menzies ministry on 10 December 1958 following the 1958 federal election.^[1]

Allen Fairhall, who died in 2006, was the last surviving member of the Seventh Menzies Ministry; Fairhall was also the last surviving member of the Ninth Menzies ministry. Hugh Roberton was the last surviving Country junior minister, and Paul Hasluck and John McEwen were the last surviving Liberal and Country Cabinet ministers respectively.