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Traits and Trends of Australia's Prime Ministers, 1901 to 2015: a Quick Guide

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Traits and Trends of Australia's Prime Ministers, 1901 to 2015: a Quick Guide RESEARCH PAPER SERIES, 2015–16 19 JANUARY 2016 Traits and trends of Australia’s prime ministers, 1901 to 2015: a quick guide Dr Joy McCann Politics and Public Administration Section Introduction • This Quick Guide presents information about the backgrounds and service of Australia’s 29 prime ministers, from Edmund Barton to Malcolm Turnbull. It includes information about of their backgrounds (age, place of birth, gender and occupational background), period in office, experience in other parliaments, parties, electorates and military service. • The majority of Australia’s prime ministers have been Australian-born, middle-aged, tertiary-educated men with experience in law or politics, representing electorates in either Victoria or New South Wales. Only one woman has served as Prime Minister since Federation. • Australia’s prime ministers have ranged in age at the time of first taking office from 39 years to 67 years. The average age is 52 years, which reflects the age profile of Australian parliamentarians more generally (51 years). • Three-quarters of Australia’s 29 prime ministers (22) were born in Australia. Of those born overseas, all but one came from the United Kingdom (England, Scotland or Wales). The only non-British overseas-born Prime Minister was Chris Watson, who was born in Chile and raised in New Zealand. Of those born in Australia, the majority were born in either Victoria (nine) or New South Wales (eight). • Thirteen prime ministers have represented electorates in New South Wales, 11 in Victoria, four in Queensland and one each in Western Australia and Tasmania. There have been no prime ministers representing electorates in South Australia, the Northern Territory, or the Australian Capital Territory. • The length of service as prime minister ranges from over 18 years (Robert Menzies) to eight days (Francis Forde). Most have left office after defeat at an election, in the Parliament or in the party room. Party abbreviations ALP Australian Labor Party CP Australian Country Party FT Free Trade LP Liberal Party of Australia NAT Nationalist Party NAT LAB National Labour PROT Protectionist Party ISSN 2203-5249 Traits and trends Table 1 summarises some of the more notable aspects of Australia’s 29 prime ministers since Federation. More detailed information about each trait is provided under separate headings below. Table 1: Traits and trends of Australia’s prime ministers, 1901 to 2015 Trait Trend Period in office • Robert Menzies was Australia’s longest-serving Prime Minister both continuously (16 years 1 month 8 days) and in total (18 years 5 months 12 days). Francis Forde was the shortest-serving (eight days). Most prime ministers have left office after being defeated at election, in the Parliament or in the party room. Age • Average age 52 years (at appointment): the youngest Prime Minister was 39 years (Stanley Bruce) and the oldest Prime Minister was 67 years (John McEwen) Country of birth • 76 per cent Australian-born one Prime Minister was born in a non-English speaking country (Chris Watson was born in Chile and raised in New Zealand) Gender • 28 men and one woman Education • 68 per cent tertiary-educated Occupational • 36 per cent with legal qualifications qualifications/experience 32 per cent with trade union experience Parliamentary experience • 39 per cent with prior experience in colonial, state or territory parliaments Electoral representation • 79 per cent represented NSW (12) and Victoria (11), including Billy Hughes who represented both states during his terms in office; 21 per cent represented Queensland (4), Tasmania (1) and Western Australia (1) Military service • 25 per cent enlisted for military service (including four who saw active war service) Source: Compiled by Parliamentary Library from Parliamentary Handbook Diversity Age Australia’s prime ministers have ranged in age at the time of first taking office from the youngest—Stanley Bruce, 39 years, to the oldest—John McEwen, 67 years (see Appendix 1). The average age is 52 years, reflecting the age profile of Australian parliamentarians more generally (51 years). Place of birth Three-quarters (22) of Australia’s 29 prime ministers were born in Australia (see Appendix 8). Of the seven prime ministers born elsewhere, all but one came from the United Kingdom (England, Scotland or Wales). The only non- British overseas-born Prime Minister was Chris Watson, who was born in Chile and raised in New Zealand. Of those born in Australia, the majority were born in either Victoria (nine) or New South Wales (eight). Only one Prime Minister has come from a non-English speaking background (Chris Watson), and no Prime Minister has identified as an Indigenous Australian. This reflects the generally low level of ethnic diversity in the Commonwealth Parliament as a whole. (Around 13 per cent of parliamentarians were migrants or children of migrants from a non-English speaking background, and only four of the current serving 226 senators and members are Indigenous Australians.) Traits and trends of Australia’s prime ministers, 1901 to 2015: a quick guide 2 Figure 1: Places of birth of Australia’s prime ministers , by country and Australian state Source: Compiled by Parliamentary Library from Parliamentary Handbook Gender Of Australia’s 29 prime ministers since Federation, only one has been a woman, reflecting the under-representation of women in federal ministerial positions more generally. According to political scientist Jennifer Curtin, there has ‘always been a public fascination with women political leaders, primarily because there have been so few of them; they are indeed exceptional’. Education and occupational background The educational qualifications of Australia’s 29 prime ministers have varied widely, from primary school level to postgraduate qualifications. Three of Australia’s 29 prime ministers have held Rhodes scholarships (Bob Hawke, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull). In terms of their employment experience before becoming prime minister: • 12 worked in the legal profession as a judge, barrister or solicitor • nine were employed in business or the corporate sector • eight were employed in trade or clerical positions • five worked as a trade union organiser, official or advocate • five worked as journalists • three worked as teachers • three had experience in the public service • two worked as political staff members • two worked as miners • one worked in the medical profession • one was a diplomat and • one was a rouseabout. As former press gallery journalist Michelle Grattan observed in her edited book Australian prime ministers, wealth and education have never been prerequisites for the nation’s highest political office. Indeed, several of the early-twentieth century prime ministers began as unskilled labourers or turned to shopkeeping or small business, and many experienced difficult personal and family circumstances as a result of illness, accident or financial loss. ‘It could be said that many of them were forced to become adults before their time, assuming responsibilities and making decisions. Many, too, were early self-improvers’. Period in office Australia has had 29 prime ministers since Federation serving 35 separate terms of office (see Appendix 1). Their periods of service range from 18.5 years (the Right Hon. Robert Menzies who held office twice, from 1939–41 and Traits and trends of Australia’s prime ministers, 1901 to 2015: a quick guide 3 1949–66) to eight days (the Right Hon. Francis Forde who served as caretaker Prime Minister for just eight days following the death of the Right Hon. John Curtin in 1945). Figure 2: Period in office Source: Compiled by Parliamentary Library from Parliamentary Handbook Note: Excludes current serving Prime Minister, the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP (15 September 2015 ̶ ) Reasons for leaving office • The majority of Australia’s prime ministers (22) have lost office as the result of defeat at a general election, on the floor of the House or the party room ballot following a leadership spill. • As at 31 October 2015 there has been a total of 23 changes of Prime Minister without an election, including: – seven prime ministers defeated in the party-room (Billy Hughes, Robert Menzies, John Gorton, Bob Hawke, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott) – five were defeated in Parliament (Alfred Deakin—who was defeated twice, Chris Watson, George Reid, Andrew Fisher and Arthur Fadden) – four left office voluntarily (Edmund Barton, to take up an appointment at the High Court, Andrew Fisher in his second term to become Australia’s High Commissioner in London, Billy Hughes who resigned but remained in the House of Representatives as a private member and minister, and Robert Menzies to retire after his second- term) – three died whilst in office (Joseph Lyons, John Curtin and Harold Holt) – three deputy prime ministers served in a caretaker capacity following the death of the Prime Minister (Earle Page replaced Lyons in 1939, Frank Forde replaced Curtin in 1945 and John McEwen replaced Holt in 1968)—in each case they continued in the caretaker role until a party room ballot could be conducted, but none of the three was subsequently elected as leader and – one left office as a result of vice-regal intervention (Gough Whitlam). • Five prime ministers resigned from Parliament after losing office (Malcolm Fraser, Robert Hawke, Paul Keating, Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd). • Two sitting prime ministers lost their seats at an election (Stanley Bruce and John Howard). Traits and trends of Australia’s prime ministers, 1901 to 2015: a quick guide 4 Experience in other parliaments Eleven of Australia’s prime ministers had experience in an Australian state parliament prior to being elected to the Commonwealth Parliament, including five in the NSW Parliament, three in the Queensland Parliament, two in the Victorian Parliament and one in the Tasmanian Parliament (see Appendix 6). Stanley Bruce is the only Australian Prime Minister to have become a British Peer in the UK House of Lords (as Viscount Bruce of Melbourne) following his prime ministership.
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