Ian Murray McLachlan (born 2 October 1936) is a former Australian politician who served as a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1990 to 1998, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He was

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

in the Howard Government from 1996 to 1998. Before entering politics, he served as president of the

National Farmers Federation The National Farmers' Federation (NFF) is an Australian non-profit membershipbased organization that represents farmers and the agricultural sector in Australia. Historically, NFF was a key player in a number of industrial relations disputes, inc ...

from 1984 to 1988. He played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

as a youth.

Early life

Born in

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

, McLachlan was educated at St. Peter's College,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, where he first displayed his cricketing prowess, and Jesus College at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He played 72 matches of first-class cricket for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

between 1956 and 1964, scoring 3743 runs at an average of 31.72, with 9 centuries while completing his bachelor and masters in Law.

Professional life

His business career includes managing director of Nangwarry Pastoral Co. Pty. Ltd., deputy chairman of SA Brewing Pty. Ltd (1983–1990), director of

Elders IXL Elders Limited, formerly known as Elder, Stirling & Co., Elder Smith and Co. and Elder Smith & Co. Ltd, is an Australian agribusiness that provides agricultural goods and services to primary producers in Australia. History Early history (18 ...

Ltd. (1980–1990) and president of the

(1984–1988). He was made an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) in January 1989 for "service to primary industry". He was a long term president (till 2014) of the

South Australian Cricket Association The South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) is the peak body for the sport of cricket in South Australia. The association administers the Southern Redbacks based in Adelaide. SACA is the controlling body for the South Australian Grade Cri ...

Political life

McLachlan was the member for Barker from 1990 until 1998 when he retired. He was Federal Minister for Defence from 1996 to 1998. There was an earlier attempt to get McLachlan into Parliament in the lead-up to the 1987 election. According to

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

, then Opposition Leader, stated in 2014 that Liberal MP

Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United King ...

had offered to stand aside from his seat of Mayo in favour of McLachlan but the offer was declined. It was revealed in 2006 that McLachlan was present at a meeting between John Howard and

Peter Costello Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian businessman, lawyer and former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia in government of John Howard from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving treasurer in Australia' ...

, arranging a handover of power after one and a half terms if Howard was allowed to become opposition leader without challenge, and then won office from the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

(ALP). Howard later reneged on this deal, leading to controversy and public bickering between Prime Minister Howard and Treasurer Costello.Costello bombshell on PM 'deal'
AAP, SMH (10 July 2006) The revelation was made by McLachlan himself and Howard later said in '' The Howard Years'' documentary series that he had decided to hand over the prime ministership to Costello in 2006 but changed his mind as a result of the revelation of the deal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLachlan, Ian 1936 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Cabinet of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Barker Members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian cricketers Cambridge University cricketers South Australia cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers Australian sportsperson-politicians Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Defence ministers of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Government ministers of Australia Cricketers from Adelaide Sportsmen from South Australia Politicians from Adelaide Officers of the Order of Australia