Sir Eric John Harrison, (7 September 1892 – 26 September 1974) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was the inaugural deputy leader 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 ...

(1945–1956), and a government minister under four prime ministers. He was later

High Commissioner to the United Kingdom The following is the list of ambassadors and high commissioners to the United Kingdom, or more formally, to the Court of St James's. High commissioners represent member states of the Commonwealth of Nations and ambassadors represent other sta ...

from 1956 to 1964. Harrison was born 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 ...

and left school at the age of 13. He served with the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

during World War I, and after the war's end became the manager of a textile factory. Harrison was elected 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 1931, representing the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

(UAP). He served briefly as Minister for Interior in 1934, under

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...

, and returned to the ministry in 1938. Over the next three years he held positions in the governments of Lyons,

Earle Page Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page (8 August 188020 December 1961) was an Australian surgeon and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, holding office for 19 days after the death of Joseph Lyons in 1939. He was the leade ...

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

, and

Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden, (13 April 189421 April 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Australia from 29 August to 7 October 1941. He was the leader of the Country Party from 1940 to 1958 and also served ...

. In 1944, Harrison replaced

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

as deputy leader of the UAP. When the new Liberal Party was formed the following year, he was elected to the same position. In Menzies' second government, Harrison held various defence-related portfolios. He was also made the inaugural Leader of the House in 1951. Harrison left politics in 1956 to become High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He retired in 1964, and suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

in later years. His daughter, Shirley Walters, followed him into politics, becoming the first woman to represent

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in the

Senate 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 ...

Early life

Harrison was born in Surry Hills, Sydney, New South Wales, to Elizabeth Jane (née Anderson) and Arthur Hoffman Harrison. His mother was born in Ireland, while his father – who worked as a painter and decorator – was born in England. Harrison attended the Crown Street Superior Public School until the age of thirteen, when he left school to work in the textile industry. He eventually became the manager of one of the factories owned by James Anderson Murdoch. In October 1916, Harrison joined the Australian Imperial Force and served on the Western Front from December 1917 in the 5th Field Artillery Brigade. He was promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in May 1918, and rowed in the Royal Henley Peace Regatta in 1919. After returning to Australia and taking his discharge, Harrison married Mary Cook McCall in 1920.

Political career

1930s

Although Harrison had not previously been politically active, in 1931 he established a branch of

All for Australia League The All for Australia League (AFAL) was an Australian political movement during the Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depressi ...

in the Sydney suburb of

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, within Jack Lang's

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, ...

, with police protection. In the December 1931 general elections he defeated Walter Marks for the

seat of

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

, although both had been endorsed by the

(UAP). He was appointed

Minister for the Interior Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

from 12 October 1934 in Lyons' second ministry, but lost the position on 9 November 1934 in Lyons' third Ministry, created to accommodate the Country Party. During this period he banned the entry of the

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

n anti-fascist campaigner,

Egon Kisch Egon Erwin Kisch (29 April 1885 – 31 March 1948) was an Austrian and Czechoslovak writer and journalist, who wrote in German. He styled himself ''Der Rasende Reporter'' (The Raging Reporter) for his countless travels to the far corners of the ...

into Australia. In November 1938, Harrison became Minister without portfolio administering External Territories, and in April 1939 was appointed

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a Ministry (government department), ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having ...

and Minister for Repatriation in

' first ministry, when the Country Party left the coalition.

World War II

When the Country Party returned to the Coalition in March 1940, Harrison was again left out of the ministry. He became Minister for Trade and Customs in Menzies third ministry in October 1940. He is notable for making available a newsprint ration for

Ezra Norton Ezra Norton (8 April 1897 – 4 January 1967) was an Australian newspaper baron and businessman. Early life Norton was born in the Sydney suburb of Watsons Bay, son of the proprietor of ''Truth'', John Norton (1858–1916) and Ada McGrath (18 ...

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in 1941, while tightening overall newsprint rationing. Harrison was a strong supporter of Menzies, as he continued to be after World War II. He went into opposition with the defeat of the Fadden government in October 1941 and almost lost his seat to

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and

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 ...

candidate

Jessie Street Jessie Mary Grey, Lady Street (née Lillingston; 18 April 1889 – 2 July 1970) was an Australian diplomat, suffragette and campaigner for Indigenous Australian rights, dubbed "Red Jessie" by the media. As Australia's only female delegate to th ...

in December 1943. Harrison was commissioned as an officer in the Militia in 1940 and in 1942 and 1943 he was a full-time liaison officer with the United States military forces in Australia. On one occasion he wore a uniform in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, causing

Eddie Ward Edward John Ward (7 March 189931 July 1963) was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in federal parliament for over 30 years. He was the member for East Sydney for all but six-and-a-half weeks from 1931 u ...

to denounce him as a fake soldier and to accuse him of having been a member of the

New Guard The New Guard was an Australian fascist paramilitary organisation during the Great Depression. It was the largest and most successful fascist organisation in Australian history. The New Guard, known for its violent agitation against Premier o ...

. His wife died in 1941 and in October 1944 he married Linda Ruth Yardley, née Fullerton, a widow and a businesswoman. He became deputy leader of the UAP in April 1944. When the UAP was folded into the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

in late 1944, Harrison became its first deputy leader, holding the position until 1956. He was the longest serving Liberal Party Deputy Leader until his record was broken by

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' ...

in 2006. He was a vocal critic of the Curtin and Chifley governments.

Post-war

Following the Liberal Party's win in the December 1949 election, Harrison became the third-ranking member of the government, behind Menzies and Country Party leader

. He served as Minister for Postwar Reconstruction (until March 1950) and

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 Menzies ministry. From April 1950 until March 1951 he was resident in London, and in October 1950 he moved from the Defence portfolio to become

. In May 1951, he became Minister for Defence Production and

Vice-President of the Executive Council The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executiv ...

in Menzies' fifth ministry and the inaugural Leader of the House. From November 1955 to February 1956, he was also Minister for the Army and Minister for the Navy. Harrison was acting prime minister for two weeks in June 1954, when Menzies was in New Zealand and Fadden was recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident.

Later life

Harrison resigned from parliament in 1956 and became Australian High Commissioner in London, where he was an outspoken advocate of the "

Old Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

". The Harrisons returned to Australia in September 1964 and moved to the Sydney suburb of Castle Cove. He died at Chatswood of

and was survived by his wife and the three daughters of his first marriage. One of his daughters was Shirley Walters, a Senator for

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

1975–93.

Honours

Harrison was made a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(KCVO) in 1954 as a result of being minister in charge of the royal visit of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

. This was an honour within the Queen's personal gift. He was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) in 1961 for his service as High Commissioner to the UK.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Eric 1892 births 1974 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Wentworth Members of the Australian House of Representatives Leaders of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Cabinet of Australia Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Australian Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian politicians awarded knighthoods High Commissioners of Australia to the United Kingdom Permanent Representatives of Australia to the International Maritime Organization Defence ministers of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Army soldiers Australian military personnel of World War I Military personnel from Sydney