The Right Honourable Sir Billy Snedden KCMG, QC |
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Leader of the Opposition Elections: 1974 |
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In office 20 December 1972 – 21 March 1975 |
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Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governor-General |
Sir Paul Hasluck Sir John Kerr |
Deputy | Phillip Lynch |
Preceded by | William McMahon |
Succeeded by | Malcolm Fraser |
5th Leader of the Liberal Party | |
In office 20 December 1972 – 21 March 1975 |
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Deputy | Phillip Lynch |
Preceded by | William McMahon |
Succeeded by | Malcolm Fraser |
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party | |
In office 10 March 1971 – 20 December 1972 |
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Prime Minister | William McMahon |
Preceded by | John Gorton |
Succeeded by | Phillip Lynch |
Treasurer of Australia | |
In office 22 March 1971 – 4 December 1972 |
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Prime Minister | William McMahon |
Preceded by | Leslie Bury |
Succeeded by | Gough Whitlam |
Minister for Labour and National Service | |
In office 12 November 1969 – 22 March 1971 |
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Prime Minister |
John Gorton William McMahon |
Preceded by | Les Bury |
Succeeded by | Phillip Lynch |
Minister for Immigration | |
In office 14 December 1966 – 12 November 1969 |
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Prime Minister |
Harold Holt John McEwen John Gorton |
Preceded by | Hubert Opperman |
Succeeded by | Phillip Lynch |
Attorney-General for Australia | |
In office 4 March 1964 – 14 December 1966 |
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Prime Minister |
Sir Robert Menzies Harold Holt |
Preceded by | Sir Garfield Barwick |
Succeeded by | Nigel Bowen |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Bruce |
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In office 10 December 1955 – 28 May 1983 |
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Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Ken Aldred |
17th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives | |
In office 17 February 1976 – 4 February 1983 |
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Preceded by | Gordon Scholes |
Succeeded by | Harry Jenkins, Sr. |
Personal details | |
Born |
Billy Mackie Snedden 31 December 1926 Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
Died | 27 June 1987 Rushcutters Bay, New South Wales, Australia |
(aged 60)
Political party | Liberal |
Spouse(s) | Joy Forsyth (m. 1950; wid. 1987) |
Children | 4 |
Education |
Highgate State School Perth Boys' School |
Alma mater |
Perth Technical College University of Western Australia |
Occupation |
Commercial lawyer (Hardwick, Slattery & Gibson) Jewellery merchant (Angus & Coote) |
Profession |
Barrister Retailer Politician |
Sir Billy Mackie Snedden, KCMG, QC (31 December 1926 – 27 June 1987) was an Australian politician representing the Liberal Party and the 17th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives. He was Leader of the Opposition at the 1974 federal election, failing to defeat the Labor incumbent Gough Whitlam.
Born in Perth, the son of a stonemason, Billy Snedden was educated at Highgate Primary School, Perth Boys School and Perth Technical College. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1945. After the war he was discharged and attended the University of Western Australia, where he completed a law degree in 1950. It was at UWA as President of the Liberal Club that he first encountered Bob Hawke, who was President of the ALP Club. He was admitted to the bar in 1951. That year he represented Western Australia at the Australian Amateur football carnival in Melbourne. In 1950 Snedden married Joy Forsyth, with whom he had four children. During this time he made three unsuccessful attempts to enter politics, standing for the Liberal Party at the 1948 Boulder state by-election and at the 1949 and 1951 federal elections (in Fremantle and Perth, respectively).
In 1954 he moved to Melbourne, where he practised law until 1955, when he was elected to the House of Representatives for the outer suburban seat of Bruce. He defeated Keith Ewert, the former Labor member for nearby Flinders. Snedden defeated Ewert by a similar margin in 1958.