The Right Honourable Sir Edmund Barton GCMG, PC, KC |
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1st Prime Minister of Australia Elections: 1901 |
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In office 1 January 1901 – 24 September 1903 |
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Monarch |
Victoria Edward VII |
Governor-General |
Marquess of Linlithgow Baron Tennyson |
Deputy | Alfred Deakin |
Preceded by | Position Established |
Succeeded by | Alfred Deakin |
Justice of the High Court | |
In office 5 October 1903 – 7 January 1920 |
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Nominated by | Alfred Deakin |
Appointed by | Baron Tennyson |
Preceded by | Position Established |
Succeeded by | Hayden Starke |
Minister for External Affairs | |
In office 1 January 1901 – 24 September 1903 |
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Prime Minister | Himself |
Preceded by | Position Established |
Succeeded by | Alfred Deakin |
Leader of the Protectionist Party | |
In office 1 January 1901 – 24 September 1903 |
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Deputy | Alfred Deakin |
Succeeded by | Alfred Deakin |
Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly | |
In office 3 January 1883 – 31 January 1887 |
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Preceded by | Sir George Wigram Allen |
Succeeded by | James Young |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Hunter | |
In office 30 March 1901 – 16 December 1903 |
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Preceded by | Seat Created |
Succeeded by | Frank Liddell |
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Hastings and Macleay |
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In office 23 November 1898 – 1 March 1900 |
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Preceded by | Francis Clarke |
Succeeded by | Francis Clarke |
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for East Sydney |
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In office 11 July 1891 – 3 August 1894 Serving with William McMillan; George Reid; Varney Parkes |
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Succeeded by | District Abolished |
In office 28 December 1882 – 2 March 1887 Serving with George Reid; Sydney Burdekin; John McElhone; George Griffiths; Henry Copeland |
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Preceded by | Arthur Renwick |
Succeeded by | William McMillan |
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Wellington |
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In office 14 December 1880 – 28 December 1882 |
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Preceded by | John Shepherd |
Succeeded by | David Ferguson |
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for University of Sydney |
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In office 26 August 1879 – 14 December 1880 |
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Preceded by | William Windeyer |
Succeeded by | District Abolished |
Personal details | |
Born |
Glebe, New South Wales, British Empire |
18 January 1849
Died | 7 January 1920 Hydro Majestic Hotel, Medlow Bath, New South Wales, Australia |
(aged 70)
Resting place | Waverley Cemetery, New South Wales, Australia |
Political party | Protectionist (after 1887) |
Other political affiliations |
None (until 1887) |
Spouse(s) | Jane Ross (m. 1877; wid. 1920) |
Children | 6 |
Education | |
Alma mater | University of Sydney |
Profession |
Trade Unionist Barrister Politician |
Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, PC, KC (18 January 1849 – 7 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as the first Prime Minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903 before leaving parliament to become a founding justice of the High Court of Australia until his death.
Barton was first elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of University of Sydney at the 1879 by-election and would go on to represent a further three seats. Barton contributed to the Australian federation movement through the 1890s and would move to the Australian House of Representatives seat of Hunter at the inaugural 1901 federal election. Despite the initial stumble of the Hopetoun Blunder, Barton went to the election as the incumbent Prime Minister of Australia and head of the interim caretaker Protectionist Party minority government. The incumbent Protectionist Party won the highest vote and largest number of seats, but had to rely on confidence and supply from the Australian Labour Party on the crossbench to wield a working parliamentary majority against the opposition Free Trade Party.