List of prime ministers of Australia by military service

Last updated

Of the 31 individuals who have served as prime minister of Australia, 8 have had prior or concurrent military service, while 23 have had no prior military service. Despite the fact that the democratically accountable Australian Cabinet (chaired by the prime minister) de facto controls the Australian Defence Force, prior military service is not a prerequisite for prime ministers of Australia. They are as follows:

No.PortraitName

(birth–death)
Constituency

Military serviceNotes
RankBranch/serviceYears of serviceAllegianceUnitBattles/wars
1 Edmund Barton crop.PNG Edmund Barton
(1849–1920)
MP for Hunter, NSW
Has no prior military service
2 Alfred Deakin crop.jpg Alfred Deakin
(1856–1919)
MP for Ballaarat, Vic [a]
Has no prior military service
3 ChrisWatsonBW crop.jpg Chris Watson
(1867–1941)
MP for Bland, NSW
Has no prior military service
4 George Reid crop.jpg George Reid
(1845–1918)
MP for East Sydney, NSW
Has no prior military service
(2) AlfredDeakin.jpeg Alfred Deakin
(1856–1919)
MP for Ballaarat, Vic [a]
Has no prior military service
5 Andrew Fisher 1908.jpg Andrew Fisher
(1862–1928)
MP for Wide Bay, Qld
Has no prior military service
(2) Alfred Deakin 1910 (crop).tif Alfred Deakin
(1856–1919)
MP for Ballaarat, Vic [a]
Has no prior military service
(5) Andrew Fisher 1912 (b&w).jpg Andrew Fisher
(1862–1928)
MP for Wide Bay, Qld
Has no prior military service
6 Joseph Cook - Crown Studios 03.jpg Joseph Cook
(1860–1947)
MP for Parramatta, NSW
Has no prior military service
(5) AndrewFisher.jpg Andrew Fisher
(1862–1928)
MP for Wide Bay, Qld
Has no prior military service
7 Billy Hughes 1919.jpg Billy Hughes
(1862–1952)
MP for West Sydney, NSW (until 1917)
MP for Bendigo, Vic (1917–22)
MP for North Sydney, NSW (from 1922)
British Army 1874–1884United KingdomRoyal Fusiliers (volunteer battalion)*NoneJoined a volunteer battalion of the Royal Fusiliers while a teenager in London. [1] Claimed to have served briefly in both the Queensland Defence Force and the Queensland Maritime Defence Force, but biographers have not been able to verify this. [1]
Hughes in his Royal Fusiliers uniform. Billy Hughes - Royal Fusiliers.jpg
Hughes in his Royal Fusiliers uniform.
Unknown Queensland Defence Force UnknownUnknown
Queensland Maritime Defence Force
8 Stanley Bruce 1926.jpg Stanley Bruce
(1883–1967)
MP for Flinders, Vic
Captain British Army 1914–1917United Kingdom2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers World War 1 Was severely wounded at Gallipoli; [2] [3] awarded the Military Cross and the Croix de Guerre avec Palme. [4] [5]
9 Portrait of the Right Hon. J. H. Scullin.png James Scullin
(1876–1953)
MP for Yarra, Vic
Has no prior military service
10 Joseph Lyons.jpg Joseph Lyons
(1879–1939)
MP for Wilmot, Tas
Has no prior military service
11 Earle Page.jpg Earle Page
(1880–1961)
MP for Cowper, NSW
Captain Australian Army 1916–1917Australia Australian Army Medical Corps World War 1 Officer in the Australian Army Medical Corps, stationed in Egypt and France during World War I [6]
12 Robert Menzies in 1939.jpg Robert Menzies
(1894–1978)
MP for Kooyong, Vic
Has no prior military service
13 FaddenPEO.jpg Arthur Fadden
(1894–1973)
MP for Darling Downs, Qld
Has no prior military service
14 JohnCurtin.jpg John Curtin
(1885–1945)
MP for Fremantle, WA
Has no prior military service
15 Frank Forde 1945.jpg Frank Forde
(1890–1983)
MP for Capricornia, Qld
Has no prior military service
16 Benchifley.jpg Ben Chifley
(1885–1951)
MP for Macquarie, NSW
Has no prior military service
(12) Portrait Menzies 1950s.jpg Robert Menzies
(1894–1978)
MP for Kooyong, Vic
Has no prior military service
17 Harold Holt 1965 01.jpg Harold Holt
(1908–1967)
MP for Higgins, Vic
Gunner Second Australian Imperial Force, Australian Army 1939–1940Australia 2/4th Field Regiment World War II Enlisted in the Army in 1939 while a Member of Parliament and was a gunner for 5 months before being recalled after the death of three senior ministers in the Canberra air disaster in 1940. [7]
18 Sir John McEwen.jpg John McEwen
(1900–1980)
MP for Murray, Vic
Private Australian Army 1918Australia World War 1 (did not see conflict)Enlisted in the Army in 1918, and was in camp awaiting embarkation for France when the armistice was declared. [8]
19 JohnGorton1968.jpg Sir John Gorton
(1911–2002)
MP for Higgins, Vic
Flight Lieutenant Royal Australian Air Force 1940–1944Australia World War II Enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1940. [9] A fighter pilot in World War II, flying Hurricanes out of Singapore and later Kittyhawks out of Milne Bay, [9] [10] Flight Lieutenant Gorton had three serious crashes, one of which gave him serious facial injuries. He also survived being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine while evacuating from Singapore aboard an ammunition ship, spending 24 hours in the water before rescue. [10]
John Gorton prior to leaving for war service in 1941 JohnGortonWW21941.jpg
John Gorton prior to leaving for war service in 1941
20 William McMahon 1972 b&w.jpg William McMahon
(1908–1988)
MP for Lowe, NSW
Major Second Australian Imperial Force ,Australian Army 1940–1945Australia 6th Division World War II Enlisted in the Army in 1939/40. Reached rank of Major, but due to a hearing impediment was deemed unfit for overseas service and was confined to work in Australia, where he was a quartermaster for the II Corps and the Second Army. [11]
21 Gough Whitlam at the Lodge 1974 (cropped).jpg Gough Whitlam
(1916–2014)
MP for Werriwa, NSW
Flight Lieutenant Royal Australian Air Force 1941–1945Australia No. 13 Squadron World War II Served in World War II in the RAAF as a navigator, reached the rank of Flight Lieutenant. Stationed in northern Australia, protecting convoys and conducting bombing raids on islands to the north. [12]
22 Malcolm Fraser 1977 (cropped).jpg Malcolm Fraser
(1930–2015)
MP for Wannon, Vic
Has no prior military service
23 Hawke Bob BANNER.jpg Bob Hawke
(1929–2019)
MP for Wills, Vic
Has no prior military service
24 Keating Paul BANNER.jpg Paul Keating
(b. 1944)
MP for Blaxland, NSW
Has no prior military service
25 Howard John BANNER.jpg John Howard
(b. 1939)
MP for Bennelong, NSW
Has no prior military service
26 Kevin Rudd official portrait.jpg Kevin Rudd
(b. 1957)
MP for Griffith, Qld
Has no prior military service
27 Julia Gillard 2010.jpg Julia Gillard
(b. 1961)
MP for Lalor, Vic
Has no prior military service
(26) Kevin Rudd portrait.jpg Kevin Rudd
(b. 1957)
MP for Griffith, Qld
Has no prior military service
28 Tony Abbott - 2010.jpg Tony Abbott
(b. 1957)
MP for Warringah, NSW
Has no prior military service
29 Malcolm Turnbull PEO (cropped).jpg Malcolm Turnbull
(b. 1954)
MP for Wentworth, NSW
Has no prior military service
30 Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison.jpg Scott Morrison
(b. 1968)
MP for Cook, NSW
Has no prior military service
31 Anthony Albanese portrait (cropped).jpg Anthony Albanese
(b. 1963)
MP for Grayndler, NSW
Has no prior military service

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Ballarat was spelt Ballaarat until the 1973 election.

References

  1. 1 2 Fitzhardinge, L. F. (1964). William Morris Hughes: A Political Biography. Vol. 1: That Fiery Particle, 1862–1914. Angus & Robertson. p. 17. ISBN   0207137463.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  2. Lee, David K. C. (2010). Stanley Melbourne Bruce: Australian Internationalist. London: Continuum Press. p. 13. ISBN   978-0-8264-4566-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  3. Stirling, Alfred (1974). Lord Bruce: The London Years. Melbourne: Hawthorn Press. p. 485. ISBN   0-7256-0125-6.
  4. "Second Supplement". London Gazette (29460): 1337. 1 February 1916. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  5. "Second Supplement". London Gazette (29486): 2068. 22 February 1916. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  6. "Obituary: Sir EARLE PAGE, P.C., G.C.M.G., C.H., Hon.D.Sc. M.B., Ch.M., Hon.F.R.C.S., F.R.A.C.S". British Medical Journal . 2 (5269): 1787. 1961. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5269.1787. PMC   1970945 .
  7. Frame, Tom (2005). The Life and Death of Harold Holt. Allen & Unwin / National Archives of Australia. pp. 16–22. ISBN   978-1-74114-672-1.
  8. Golding, Peter S. (1996). Black Jack McEwen: Political Gladiator. Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN   0522847188.
  9. 1 2 Hancock, Ian (2002). John Gorton: He Did It His Way. Hodder. p. 33. ISBN   0-7336-1439-6.
  10. 1 2 Trengove, Alan (1969). John Grey Gorton: An Informal Biography. Melbourne: Cassell Australia. pp. 73–80. ISBN   0304939641.
  11. Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war: the Second World War Archived 10 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine , Australian Parliamentary Library, 9 September 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  12. Lloyd, Clem (2008). Grattan, Michelle (ed.). Australian Prime Ministers (revised ed.). Sydney: New Holland Publishers Pty Ltd. pp. 324–354.