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) held 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 ...

on 9 October 1941, following the resignation of

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

on the same day.

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

was elected as his replacement. Menzies had become UAP leader (and thus

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

) in 1939, following the death of

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), ...

. The UAP-

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

lost its slender majority at the 1940 election, and depended on the votes of two independents to stay in office. On 29 August 1941, Menzies resigned the prime ministership after Labor turned down his offer to join a national unity government. He was succeeded by Country Party leader

Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden, (13 April 189421 April 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Australia from 29 August to 7 October 1941. He was the leader of the Country Party from 1940 to 1958 and also served ...

, who had been elected by a joint meeting of the Coalition parties. However, the Fadden Government lasted only 40 days before being defeated after the two independents joined Labor in defeating Fadden's budget.

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

's Labor Party formed a new government on 7 October, with the Coalition parties forced into

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

. On 9 October, Menzies called a meeting of the parliamentary UAP. He resigned the party's leadership, but not before calling for a vote to determine whether the UAP should form a joint opposition with the Country Party (with Fadden as

opposition leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

). After a long debate, a joint opposition was approved by 19 votes to 12, despite Menzies arguing against the proposal. As a result, he did not re-contest the party leadership. There were three candidates – former prime minister and attorney-general

, former army minister

Percy Spender Sir Percy Claude Spender (5 October 18973 May 1985) was an Australian politician, diplomat, and judge. He served in the House of Representatives from 1937 to 1951, including as a cabinet minister under Robert Menzies and Arthur Fadden. He wa ...

, and former external territories minister Allan McDonald. Spender was eliminated on the first ballot, and Hughes narrowly defeated McDonald on the second. The final tally of votes was not released, but some sources reported the margin to be only a single vote. Hughes, who was 79 years old (although claiming to be 77), was viewed as "a stop-gap choice to give time for animosities to cool or a more formidable rival to Menzies to emerge".

References

{{Leadership spills in Australia United Australia Party October 1941 events 1941 elections in Australia Australian leadership spills United Australia Party leadership election

See also

References