The Honourable Sir Ross McDonald QC |
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Leader of the Liberal Party in Western Australia |
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In office 13 April 1938 – 14 December 1946 |
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Preceded by | Norbert Keenan |
Succeeded by | Ross McLarty |
Attorney-General of Western Australia | |
In office 1 April 1947 – 5 January 1948 |
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Preceded by | Hubert Parker |
Succeeded by | Arthur Abbott |
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia |
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In office 8 April 1933 – 23 March 1950 |
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Preceded by | Thomas Davy |
Succeeded by | Joseph Totterdell |
Constituency | West Perth |
Personal details | |
Born |
Albany, Western Australia, Australia |
25 January 1888
Died | 25 March 1964 Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia |
(aged 76)
Political party |
Nationalist (to 1945) Liberal (from 1945) |
Alma mater | University of Adelaide |
Occupation | Barrister |
Religion | Presbyterian |
Sir Robert Ross McDonald QC (25 January 1888 – 25 March 1964) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1933 to 1950, representing the seat of West Perth. He served as leader of the Nationalist Party from 1938 to 1945, and of the Liberal Party (its successor) from 1945 to 1946, during the period when those parties were the junior partners in the coalition with the Country Party.
McDonald was born in Albany, Western Australia, to Mary Jane (née Elder) and Angus McDonald. He boarded at Scotch College, Perth, and then studied law by correspondence at the University of Adelaide. He was called to bar in 1910. McDonald enlisted as a private in the Australian Imperial Force in 1916, and later served as a lower-level officer with various artillery units in France and Belgium. He had reached the rank of lieutenant by the end of the war. On his return to Australia in 1919, McDonald joined the law firm of Robert Thomson Robinson (a fellow Albany native), eventually becoming a partner. He was a part-time lecturer at the University of Western Australia from 1928 to 1931, and also served as the foundation vice-president of the Australian branch of the International Commission of Jurists.