Sir John Gladstone Black McDonald (6 December 1898 – 23 April 1977) was 37th

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assemb ...

(leading the Country Party) from 27 June 1950 to 17 December 1952, except for a few days in October 1952 when

Thomas Hollway Thomas Tuke Hollway (2 October 1906 – 30 July 1971) was the 36th Premier of Victoria, and the first to be born in the 20th century. He held office from 1947 to 1950, and again for a short period in 1952. He was originally a member and the lead ...

led a brief Electoral Reform League government. McDonald came to office by defeating Hollway's

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 ...

s, but was himself vanquished by the Labor Party under John Cain in 1952. McDonald was also

Deputy Premier of Victoria The deputy premier of Victoria is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Victoria. The deputy premier position was created in May 1932, with Robert Menzies being the first person to hold the position. The deputy premier is appointe ...

from November 1947 to December 1948 under Premier

. McDonald was President of the

Goulburn Valley Second Eighteens Football Association The Goulburn Valley Football Association (GVFA) is an Australian rules football competition that was first established in 1888 in the Goulburn Valley of Victoria, Australia, with the foundation clubs being Cobram, Muckatah, Nathalia, Numurkah ...

from 1927 to 1933.

Early life

McDonald was born in Falkirk,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, the son of a grocer, and was educated at Carmuirs School. After the death of his father, McDonald and his family emigrated to Australia in 1912 and settled in Shepparton,

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 ...

where they ran a dairy farm.Costar, B. J.
'McDonald, Sir John Gladstone Black (Jack) (1898–1977)'
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, , accessed 27 March 2012. On 4 March 1916, McDonald (who was 17 at the time) enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, in which he served with the 37th BattalionFirst World War Nominal Roll Page - AWM133, 34-099
Australian War Memorial; accessed 11 June 2017. on the Western Front.

References

, - 1898 births 1977 deaths Premiers of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Treasurers of Victoria Deputy Premiers of Victoria Australian Knights Bachelor Australian politicians awarded knighthoods Australian Army soldiers Australian military personnel of World War I Scottish emigrants to Australia People from Falkirk People from Shepparton 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-National-politician-stub