Menzies, Sir Robert Gordon

Menzies, Sir Robert Gordon (b. 20 Dec. 1894, d. 15 May 1978). Prime Minister of Australia 1939–41, 1949–66 Born in Jeparit (Victoria), he graduated in law from Melbourne University, and became a successful barrister (from 1918), receiving the prestigious appointment of a King's Council in 1929. He became a member of the state parliament of Victoria as a member of the Nationalist Party and of the United Australia Party (UAP, from 1931), and was attorney-general and solicitor-general for the state (1932–4). In 1934 he moved to national politics and was elected to the federal parliament, whereupon he was immediately appointed Attorney-General, while becoming deputy leader of the UAP in 1935. Increasingly frustrated by Lyons's style of leadership and his grip on power, he resigned from Cabinet on 14 March 1939, but became Prime Minister four weeks later after Lyons's sudden death. Unlike his predecessor, he did not command universal rank-and-file support. Squabbling within the Cabinet and with his coalition partner, the Country Party (National Party), led to his defeat at the 1941 elections, against the energetic Curtin.

After briefly losing the leadership of his party he regained it in 1943, and proceeded to form a new party in 1944 designed to be more avowedly a representative of the middle classes, the Liberal Party. He led the Liberals to victory in 1949, and subsequently commanded the political centre-stage. His leadership role was enhanced by his fierce anti-Communism which served him well during the height of the Cold War. His pro-Britishness did not prevent him from furthering closer military ties with the USA, subscribing to its domino theory and committing Australian troops to the Korean War and the Vietnam War. His credentials in domestic politics were heightened by the postwar economic boom which enabled him to enact many of the welfare proposals of the previous Labor governments. At the same time, despite his commitment to ensuring a fair share of the boom for everyone, he was firm in his commitment to a capitalist free market. Meanwhile, his political longevity was underwritten by renewed splits in the Labor Party from 1955. He vastly extended the involvement of the federal state in university education, and was made Chancellor of the University of Melbourne after his retirement from politics, 1967–72.