The Viscount Dunrossil | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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14th Governor-General of Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 2 February 1960 – 3 February 1961 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister | Robert Menzies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Sir William Slim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Lord De L'Isle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 31 October 1951 – 20 October 1959 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monarchs | George VI Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister | Winston Churchill Anthony Eden Harold Macmillan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Douglas Clifton Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Sir Harry Hylton-Foster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Torinturk, Argyll, Scotland | 10 August 1893||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 3 February 1961 Canberra, Australia | (aged 67)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Resting place | St John the Baptist Church, Reid | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse |
Katharine Swan (m. 1924) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children | Four, including John | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
William Shepherd Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, GCMG, MC, PC, QC (10 August 1893 – 3 February 1961), was a British politician. He was a long-serving cabinet minister before serving as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1951 to 1959. He was then appointed as the 14th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1960 until his death in 1961.
Morrison was the son of a Scottish farmer, born in the small village of Torinturk, Argyll. He attended George Watson's College and then went on to the University of Edinburgh; his studies were interrupted by World War I, where he served with the Royal Field Artillery and won the Military Cross. Training as a lawyer, Morrison was called to the bar in 1923 and began working as a private secretary to Sir Thomas Inskip, the Solicitor-General. After several previous attempts, he was elected to the House of Commons in 1929, representing a constituency in Gloucestershire for the Conservative Party.
In 1936, after several years as a junior minister, Morrison was made Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries by Stanley Baldwin. He also served as a minister under Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill, including as Minister of Food (1939–1940), Postmaster General (1940–1943), and Minister of Town and Country Planning (1943–1945). Morrison was elevated to the speakership following the 1951 general election. He was praised for his impartiality, especially during the heated debate on the Suez Crisis, and was raised to the viscountcy when his term ended. Lord Dunrossil became governor-general in 1960, on the nomination of Robert Menzies, but served only a year before dying in office.