A
leadership election
A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party.
Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...
was held on 13 September 1939 to select
Earle Page
Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page (8 August 188020 December 1961) was an Australian surgeon and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, holding office for 19 days after the death of Joseph Lyons in 1939. He was the leade ...
's replacement as leader of the
Country Party of Australia and de facto-
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
.
Archie Cameron
Archie Galbraith Cameron (22 March 18959 August 1956) was an Australian politician. He was a government minister under Joseph Lyons and Robert Menzies, leader of the Country Party from 1939 to 1940, and finally Speaker of the House of Represe ...
was elected party leader in preference to
John McEwen
Sir John McEwen, (29 March 1900 – 20 November 1980) was an Australian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Australia, holding office from 1967 to 1968 in a caretaker capacity after the disappearance of Harold Holt. He was the ...
seven votes to five.
Background
When
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He began his career in the Australian Labor Party (ALP), ...
died in office in April 1939, Country Party leader
Earl Page was commissioned as caretaker Prime Minister capacity while the
United Australia Party
The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...
(UAP) could elect a new leader. When
Robert Menzies was
elected as the new UAP leader, Page refused to work under him, and made an extraordinary personal attack on him in the House, accusing him of ministerial incompetence and cowardice for refusing to enlist during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Subsequently, Page refused to serve in Menzies' cabinet and withdrew the Country Party from the coalition. However, this proved unpopular and his party soon rebelled and caused him to resign as party leader. This left the field open for a new leader.
Candidates
*
Archie Cameron
Archie Galbraith Cameron (22 March 18959 August 1956) was an Australian politician. He was a government minister under Joseph Lyons and Robert Menzies, leader of the Country Party from 1939 to 1940, and finally Speaker of the House of Represe ...
, Member for
Barker (SA) and
Postmaster-General
A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsible ...
*
John McEwen
Sir John McEwen, (29 March 1900 – 20 November 1980) was an Australian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Australia, holding office from 1967 to 1968 in a caretaker capacity after the disappearance of Harold Holt. He was the ...
, Member for
Indi (Vic) and
Minister for the Interior
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...
Results
The following table gives the ballot results:
Aftermath
According to McEwen, the result had been skewed due to the absence of four Country Party MPs who had refused to sit in the
party room whilst Page was leader. A motion to re-admit them as members was defeated by seven votes to six. McEwen later claimed in his memoirs that the dissentient MPs were "all strong supporters of mine and, had they been allowed to vote, I would have won the election". All were subsequently re-admitted to the party several months later.
See also
*
1939 United Australia Party leadership election
*
National Party of Australia leadership elections
References
{{Leadership spills in Australia
1939 elections in Australia
National Party of Australia
Australian leadership spills
Country Party of Australia leadership election