Esmond Laurence Kiernan (25 December 1881 – 19 April 1967) was an Australian politician. He was born in

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

to schoolteachers John Joseph Kiernan and Margaret MacDonald. He attended state schools and became a furniture retailer. He was a founding member of the Clerks' Union and joined the Labor Party in 1909. He was a follower of

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

and an opponent of

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

and, from 1917 to 1920, served on Collingwood City Council. On 31 January 1917, he married Eileen Mary Harrison, with whom he had four children. In 1919, Kiernan was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

for

Melbourne North Province Melbourne North Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. ...

. From 1929 to 1932 he was an Honorary Minister in the Hogan Labor government and, for a short period, was Minister for Sustenance. His resignation from Cabinet over a union dispute concerning termination of the

Premiers' Plan The Premiers' Plan was a deflationary economic policy agreed by a meeting of the Premiers of the Australian states in June 1931 to combat the Great Depression in Australia that sparked the 1931 Labor split. Background The Great Depressio ...

saw him expelled from the Labor Party in 1932, and he served thereafter as an

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member. After travelling to Italy in the early 1930s, he returned to Australia a committed supporter of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

. Despite that, he was not opposed for re-election in 1934, but lost his seat in 1940. In 1934, he became the inaugural President of the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

branch of the

Australia First Movement The Australia First Movement was a fascist movement, founded in October 1941. It grew out of the Rationalist Association of New South Wales and the Victorian Socialist Party, and was led by former Rhodes scholar Percy Stephensen and Adela ...

. Kiernan died in

in 1967, and is buried in the Catholic section of

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of four Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other nec ...

. His wife died in 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiernan, Esmond 1881 births 1967 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Independent members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council 20th-century Australian politicians Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery