Ivor John Greenwood QC (15 November 192613 October 1976) was an Australian barrister and politician. He was a member of 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 ...

and held senior ministerial office in the

McMahon McMahon, also spelled MacMahon (older Irish orthography: ; reformed Irish orthography: ), is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac'' ''Mathghamhna'' meaning 'son of the bear'. The surname came into use around the 11th c ...

and Fraser Governments. He served as

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

(1971),

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 ...

(1971–1972, 1975) and Minister for the Environment, Housing and Community Development (1975–1976). He was a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

from 1968 until his death in 1976, aged 49.

Early life

Greenwood was born on 15 November 1926 in

North Melbourne, Victoria North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

. He was the oldest of three children born to Joy Olive (née Vickers) and Bartlett John Greenwood. His father was a

boilermaker A boilermaker is a tradesperson who fabricates steel, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dep ...

with the

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

. Greenwood attended Hartwell State School and Mont Albert Central State School before winning a scholarship to Scotch College. In 1945 he matriculated to the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, graduating

Bachelor of Laws 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 1949. He served as president of the Melbourne University Liberal Club and the Students' Representative Council. He subsequently worked as an associate to two High Court judges,

Frank Kitto Sir Frank Walters Kitto, (30 July 1903 – 15 February 1994), Australian judge, was a Justice of the High Court of Australia. Early life and education Kitto was born in Melbourne in 1903, but his family moved to Sydney, when his father, J ...

and Owen Dixon.

Legal career

Greenwood was called to the

Victorian Bar The Victorian Bar is the bar association of the Australian State of Victoria. The current President of the Bar is Roisin Annesley KC. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 30 June 2020, there were 2,179 counsels ...

in 1951 and shared chambers with future High Court justice and governor-general

Ninian Stephen Sir Ninian Martin Stephen (15 June 1923 – 29 October 2017) was an Australian judge who served as the 20th governor-general of Australia, in office from 1982 to 1989. He was previously a justice of the High Court of Australia from 1972 to 198 ...

for a period. He "soon established a reputation as a scholarly but practical barrister, working principally in the fields of commercial and local government law". Greenwood served as honorary secretary of the

Law Council of Australia The Law Council of Australia, founded in 1933, is an association of law societies and bar associations from the states and territories of Australia, and the peak body representing the legal profession in Australia. The Law Council represents mo ...

from 1963 to 1968. He was also involved with the Law Association for Asia and the Western Pacific (later known as LAWASIA). He was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1969, but according to the ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'' did not "achieve the material success that would have been his had he confined himself to the usual activities of a barrister".

Political career

Early involvement

Greenwood joined the Young Liberal and Country Movement at a young age. He and his close friend Alan Missen were known as civil libertarians and opposed the

Menzies Government Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

's attempts to ban the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

in 1951. The following year, Greenwood was elected to the executive of the

Liberal and Country Party The Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division), branded as Liberal Victoria, and commonly known as the Victorian Liberals, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1949 as ...

and chosen as state president of the Young Liberal Movement, serving until 1954. He remained on the state executive of the Liberal Party until 1968, including as vice-president from 1966.

Senate

Greenwood was nominated to fill a casual vacancy in the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

, created by

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...

's move to 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 ...

in 1968. He was appointed

from March to August 1971 in the McMahon ministry and then

until the defeat of the government in December 1972 election. Following the 1975 election, he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, and became Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development in the Fraser ministry. On 7 May 1976, Greenwood collapsed at Parliament House after suffering "a massive heart attack and stroke"; he lapsed into a coma. He remained gravely ill and in July his ministerial commission was withdrawn. In October 1976 he died of an acute heart attack with anoxic cerebral complications, survived by his wife, son and daughter.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwood, Ivor 1926 births 1976 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Cabinet of Australia Australian barristers Australian King's Counsel Lawyers from Melbourne People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Melbourne Law School alumni 20th-century Australian lawyers 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Ministers for Health People from North Melbourne Politicians from Melbourne