Sir Daniel Levy (30 November 1872 – 20 May 1937) was an Australian politician.

Early life

He was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to tailor Joseph Levy and Esther, ''née'' Cohen. He arrived in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1880 and attended Crown Street Superior School,

Sydney Grammar School (Praise be to God) , established = , type = Independent, day school , gender = Boys , religious_affiliation = None , slogan = , headmaster = R. B. Malpass , founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran , chairman = ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, graduating with a first in Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in 1893 and a

Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1895, in which year he was called to the Bar. In 1902 he was admitted as a solicitor. Levy was active in Jewish affairs and was co-editor of the ''Australasian Hebrew'' newspaper in 1896 with Percy J. Marks.

Political career

He entered the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

in 1901 as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member for Sydney-Fitzroy, transferring to

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. I ...

in 1904. He would represent

for the period of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

from 1920 to 1927,

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

from 1927 to 1930, and

Woollahra Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. W ...

thereafter. In 1919 he was elected

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by Speaker (politics), presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled Legislative Assembly, legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures ...

. The Labor party had a narrow victory at the 1920 election, winning 43 of the 90 seats. Levy, despite being a member of the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

opposition, accepted re-election as speaker, making it easier for Labor to obtain a majority, provoking discontent within his own party, with John Fitzpatrick making a scathing speech, lasting almost 2 hours, including calling Levy a rat and a traitor and that if he was knighted he would "arise Sir Judas Iscariot". Levy resigned as speaker on 12 December 1921 after the Nationalist leader George Fuller announced that he had likely majority, his resignation precipitating the defeat of the Dooley government on the floor of the house. Levy was re-elected as speaker following the formation of the Fuller ministry, which lasted seven hours, and continued the position when Dooley resumed the premiership later the same day. Levy was known as a scrupulously independent Speaker, advocating the British model of speakership in which the speaker's seat was uncontested, and made efforts to have this practice adopted by statute. He was speaker until 1925, served again from 1927 to 1930, and served briefly in Bertram Stevens' 1932 emergency cabinet as

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. Resuming the speakership in 1932, he held the position until his death on at

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to ...

. Levy was knighted in 1929 for his service as Speaker.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Daniel 1872 births 1937 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales United Australia Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Speakers of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly People educated at Sydney Grammar School University of Sydney alumni Australian solicitors Jewish Australian politicians Attorneys General of New South Wales