William McKell

The Right Honourable Sir William McKell GCMG QC
McKell c. 1953
12th Governor-General of Australia
In office 11 March 1947 – 8 May 1953
Monarchs	George VI Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Ben Chifley Robert Menzies
Preceded by	The Duke of Gloucester
Succeeded by	Sir William Slim
27th Premier of New South Wales Elections: 1944
In office 16 May 1941 – 6 February 1947
Monarch	George VI
Governor	John de Vere Loder John Northcott
Deputy Premier	Jack Baddeley
Preceded by	Alexander Mair
Succeeded by	Jim McGirr
Treasurer of New South Wales
In office 16 May 1941 – 6 February 1947
Preceded by	Athol Richardson
Succeeded by	Jim McGirr
14th Leader of the Opposition in New South Wales Elections: 1941
In office 5 September 1939 – 16 May 1941
Premier	Alexander Mair
Deputy	Jack Baddeley
Preceded by	Jack Lang
Succeeded by	Alexander Mair
9th Leader of the Labor Party in New South Wales
In office 5 September 1939 – 6 February 1947
Deputy	Jack Baddeley
Preceded by	Jack Lang
Succeeded by	Jim McGirr
Cabinet positions Minister for Local Government In office 4 November 1930 – 17 June 1931 Premier Jack Lang Preceded by Michael Bruxner Succeeded by Jim McGirr Minister of Justice In office 17 June 1931 – 13 May 1932 Premier Jack Lang Preceded by Joe Lamaro Succeeded by Daniel Levy In office 17 June 1925 – 7 June 1927 Premier Jack Lang Preceded by Thomas Ley Succeeded by Andrew Lysaght Jr. In office 20 December 1921 – 13 April 1922 Premier James Dooley Preceded by Thomas Bavin Succeeded by Thomas Ley In office 22 December 1920 – 10 October 1921 Premier John Storey Preceded by Edward McTiernan Succeeded by Thomas Bavin
Electorate Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Botany In office 20 March 1920 – 7 September 1927 Serving with Thomas Mutch Simon Hickey Frank Burke John Lee Bill Ratcliffe Preceded by Electorate expanded Succeeded by Electorate reduced Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Redfern In office 8 October 1927 – 6 February 1947 Preceded by Electorate re-established Succeeded by George Noble In office 24 March 1917 – 18 February 1920 Preceded by James McGowen Succeeded by Electorate abolished
Personal details
Born	William John McKell 26 September 1891 Pambula, Colony of New South Wales
Died	11 January 1985 (1985-01-12) (aged 93) Waverley, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	Northern Suburbs Crematorium
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Mary Pye ​ (m. 1920)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	Robert Pollock McKell Martha Shepherd
Education	Bourke Street Public School
Occupation	Boilermaker Unionist Politician
Cabinet	First Second

Sir William John McKell, GCMG, QC (26 September 1891 – 11 January 1985) was an Australian politician who served as the 12th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1947 to 1953. He had previously been Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 1947, as leader of the Labor Party.

McKell was born in the small town of Pambula, New South Wales, but grew up in Sydney. He left school at thirteen, training as a boilermaker at Mort's Dock. McKell soon became involved with the union movement, and after a brief period on the railways began working full-time as a union secretary. He sided with the anti-conscriptionists during the Labor Party split of 1916, and at the 1917 state election defeated James McGowen, a former Labor premier who had been expelled from the party. In 1920, aged 29, McKell was Minister of Justice under John Storey. He also served as a minister under John Dooley and Jack Lang.

During the Labor Party's internal tensions in the 1930s, McKell came to be seen as a compromise candidate for the leadership of the party. He replaced Jack Lang as leader of the opposition in 1939, and became premier following Labor's victory at the 1941 state election. As premier, McKell oversaw both the war effort and the initial stages of post-war reconstruction, carrying out an ambitious programme of public works as well as various social reforms. He was re-elected with an increased majority at the 1944 election, making him the first Labor premier to win successive elections in New South Wales.

McKell had planned to retire from public life in 1946, but was instead convinced by Ben Chifley to become Governor-General. His appointment was initially controversial due to its openly political nature; Sir Robert Menzies called it "shocking and humiliating". However, when Menzies returned as prime minister in 1949, they formed an amicable working relationship. Some of McKell's actions as Governor-General were unpopular amongst his old Labor Party colleagues, notably his acceptance of a knighthood and his decision to grant Menzies a double dissolution in 1951. In later life, he served as a trustee of the Sydney Cricket Ground, and as a member of the Reid Commission, which drafted the Constitution of Malaysia.