William Hughes
| William Hughes | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 September 1862 |
| Date of death | 28 October 1952 |
| Wife | Elizabeth Hughes |
| Party | Australian Labor Party |
| Prime Minister | |
| From | 27 October 1915 |
| To | 9 February 1923 |
| Succeeded | Andrew Fisher |
| Preceded | Stanley Bruce |
Rt. Hon. William (Billy) Morris Hughes was Australia's seventh Prime Minister, and was the Prime Minister for the duration of World War I.
He was elected to Federal Parliament from the commencement of federation in 1901, and retired in 1952, having been voted into office at all 21 general elections during that time. Prior to that, he had been a parliamentarian in the New South Wales parliament for seven years, so spent a remarkable 58 years in state and federal parliament.
He advocated conscription, and successfully introduced a bill to hold a referendum on conscription. The referendum narrowly failed, but before that took place, the New South Wales branch of the Labor Party expelled him over his support of conscription.
His funeral procession through the streets of Sydney was watched by 450,000 people lining the streets.
Sources
- National Museum of Ausralia, William Hughes
| Australian Prime Ministers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund Barton (1901) Alfred Deakin (1903, 1905, and 1909) |
Stanley Bruce (1923) James Scullin (1929) |
Francis Forde (1945) Joseph Chifley (1945) |
Malcolm Fraser (1975) Robert Hawke (1983) |
