Menzies Government (1939–41)
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The Right Honourable Sir Robert Menzies KT, AK, CH, FAA, FRS, QC |
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12th Prime Minister of Australia Elections: 1940 |
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In office 26 April 1939 – 26 August 1941 |
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| Monarch | George VI |
| Governor-General | Alexander Hore-Ruthven |
| Preceded by | Earle Page |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Fadden |
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George VI Elizabeth II |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | United Australia |
The Menzies Government (1939–1941) refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies. Menzies led the United Australia Party in the Australian Parliament from 1939–1941. Menzies served a later and longer term as Prime Minister as leader of a successor party, the Liberal Party of Australia from 1949–1966 (see Menzies Government).
The United Australia Party (UAP) was formed in 1931 as a response to the more radical proposals of Labor Party members to deal with the Great Depression. Led by former Labor minister and fiscal conservative Joseph Lyons, the new party swept into office in 1931 against the Australian Labor Party led by James Scullin. Labor had split over the issue of economic policy, with Lang Labor seeking to cease overseas debt repayments.
Lyons served seven years as Prime Minister, overseeing Australia's recovery from the Great Depression. Defence issues became increasingly dominant in public affairs with the rise of Fascism in Europe and militant Japan in Asia. Lyons negotiated a coalition with the Country Party, led by Earle Page, following the 1934 election, however the parties continued to differ on some questions of economic policy: the Country Party wanted low tariffs and opposed introduction of a national unemployment insurance scheme.
On 7 April 1939, with the storm clouds of the Second World War gathering in Europe and the Pacific, Joseph Lyons became the first Prime Minister of Australia to die in office, suffering a heart attack. The UAP's Deputy leader, Robert Menzies, now openly antipathetic to Country Party leader Earle Page, had resigned in March, citing the coalition's failure to implement a plan for national insurance as the cause for his resignation. In the absence of a UAP deputy, the Governor-General, Lord Gowrie, appointed Country Party leader Earl Page as his temporary replacement, pending the selection of Lyons' successor by the UAP.
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