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Sir Alfred Deakin

The Honourable
Alfred Deakin
Alfred Deakin crop.jpg
2nd Prime Minister of Australia
Elections: 1903, 1906, 1910
In office
24 September 1903 – 27 April 1904
Governor-General Lord Tennyson
Lord Northcote
Deputy William Lyne
Monarch Edward VII
Preceded by Edmund Barton
Succeeded by Chris Watson
In office
5 July 1905 – 13 November 1908
Monarch Edward VII
Governor-General Lord Northcote
The Earl of Dudley
Deputy William Lyne
Preceded by George Reid
Succeeded by Andrew Fisher
In office
2 June 1909 – 29 April 1910
Monarch Edward VII
Governor-General The Earl of Dudley
Deputy Joseph Cook
Preceded by Andrew Fisher
Succeeded by Andrew Fisher
Minister for External Affairs
In office
5 July 1905 – 13 November 1908
Prime Minister Alfred Deakin
Preceded by George Reid
Succeeded by Lee Batchelor
In office
24 September 1903 – 27 April 1904
Prime Minister Alfred Deakin
Preceded by Edmund Barton
Succeeded by Billy Hughes
Leader of the Commonwealth Liberal Party
In office
26 May 1909 – 20 January 1913
Deputy Joseph Cook
Succeeded by Joseph Cook
Leader of the Protectionist Party
In office
24 September 1903 – 26 May 1909
Deputy William Lyne
John Forrest
Preceded by Edmund Barton
Succeeded by Position Abolished
Attorney-General for Australia
In office
1 January 1901 – 24 September 1903
Prime Minister Edmund Barton
Preceded by Position Established
Succeeded by James Drake
Leader of the Opposition
In office
1 July 1910 – 20 January 1913
Prime Minister Andrew Fisher
Preceded by Andrew Fisher
Succeeded by Joseph Cook
In office
26 May 1909 – 2 June 1909
Prime Minister Andrew Fisher
Preceded by Joseph Cook
Succeeded by Andrew Fisher
Member of the Australian Parliament for Ballaarat
In office
30 March 1901 – 31 May 1913
Preceded by Seat created
Succeeded by Charles McGrath
Personal details
Born Alfred Deakin
(1856-08-03)3 August 1856
Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
Died 7 October 1919(1919-10-07) (aged 63)
South Yarra, Victoria, Australia
Political party Independent (until 1901)
Protectionist (1901–1909)
Liberal (after 1909)
Spouse(s) Pattie Browne
(m. 1882)
Relations Wilfred Brookes (grandson)
Alfred Brookes (grandson)
Children 3, including Ivy Brookes
Education Melbourne Church of England Grammar School
Alma mater University of Melbourne
Occupation Transportation company director
(Cobb & Co)
Profession Businessman
Barrister
Politician

Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia, in office for three separate terms – 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He had earlier been a leader of the movement for Australian federation.

Deakin was born in Melbourne, and attended the University of Melbourne before training as a barrister. He was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1879, aged 22, and became a government minister in 1883. Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony, including pro-worker industrial reforms. He also played a major part in developing irrigation in Australia.

Throughout the 1890s Deakin was a participant in conferences of representatives of the Australian colonies that were established to draft a constitution for the proposed federation. He played an important role in ensuring that the draft was liberal and democratic and in achieving compromises to enable its eventual success. Between conferences, he worked to popularise the concept of federation and campaigned for its acceptance in colonial referenda. He then fought hard to ensure acceptance of the proposed constitution by the Government of the United Kingdom.

As Prime Minister, Deakin completed a significant legislative program that makes him, with Labor's Andrew Fisher, the founder of an effective Commonwealth government. He expanded the High Court, provided major funding for the purchase of ships, leading to the establishment of the Royal Australian Navy as a significant force under the Fisher government, and established Australian control of Papua. Confronted by the rising Australian Labor Party in 1909, he merged his Protectionist Party with Joseph Cook's Anti-Socialist Party to create the Commonwealth Liberal Party (known commonly as the Fusion), the main ancestor of the modern Liberal Party of Australia. The Deakin-led Liberal Party government lost to Fisher Labor at the 1910 election, which saw the first time a federal political party had been elected with a majority in either house in Federal Parliament. Deakin resigned from Parliament prior to the 1913 election, with Joseph Cook winning the Liberal Party leadership ballot.


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