Billy Hughes

The Right Honourable Billy Hughes CH QC
Hughes in 1919
7th Prime Minister of Australia
In office 27 October 1915 – 9 February 1923
Monarch	George V
Governors‑General	Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson Lord Forster
Preceded by	Andrew Fisher
Succeeded by	Stanley Bruce
Party leadership positions Leader of the Labor Party In office 27 October 1915 – 14 November 1916 Deputy George Pearce Preceded by Andrew Fisher Succeeded by Frank Tudor Leader of the National Labor Party In office 14 November 1916 – 17 February 1917 Deputy George Pearce Preceded by Position created Succeeded by Position abolished Leader of the Nationalist Party Elections: 1917, 1919, 1922 In office 17 February 1917 – 9 February 1923 Deputy Sir Joseph Cook Stanley Bruce Preceded by Position created Succeeded by Stanley Bruce Leader of the Australian Party In office 2 October 1929 – 7 May 1931 Preceded by Position created Succeeded by Position abolished Leader of the United Australia Party Elections: 1943 In office 9 October 1941 – 22 September 1943 Preceded by Robert Menzies Succeeded by Robert Menzies Deputy Leader of the Labor Party In office 18 September 1914 – 27 October 1915 Leader Andrew Fisher Preceded by Gregor McGregor Succeeded by George Pearce Deputy Leader of the United Australia Party In office 22 September 1943 – 14 April 1944 Leader Robert Menzies Preceded by Position created Succeeded by Eric Harrison
Cabinet posts Attorney-General of Australia In office 20 March 1939 – 7 October 1941 Prime Minister Joseph Lyons Earle Page Robert Menzies Arthur Fadden Preceded by Robert Menzies Succeeded by H. V. Evatt In office 17 September 1914 – 21 December 1921 Prime Minister Andrew Fisher Himself Preceded by William Irvine Succeeded by Littleton Groom In office 29 April 1910 – 24 June 1913 Prime Minister Andrew Fisher Preceded by Paddy Glynn Succeeded by William Irvine In office 13 November 1908 – 2 June 1909 Prime Minister Andrew Fisher Preceded by Littleton Groom Succeeded by Paddy Glynn Minister for External Affairs In office 29 November 1937 – 26 April 1939 Prime Minister Joseph Lyons Earle Page Preceded by George Pearce Succeeded by Henry Gullett In office 21 December 1921 – 9 February 1923 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Position re-created Succeeded by Stanley Bruce In office 27 April 1904 – 17 August 1904 Prime Minister Chris Watson Preceded by Alfred Deakin Succeeded by George Reid
Constituencies Member of the Australian House of Representatives In office 29 March 1901 – 28 October 1952 Constituency West Sydney (1901–17) Bendigo (1917–22) North Sydney (1922–49) Bradfield (1949–52) Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly In office 17 July 1894 – 11 June 1901 Preceded by New district Succeeded by John Power Constituency Sydney-Lang
Personal details
Born	William Morris Hughes (1862-09-25)25 September 1862 Pimlico, London, England
Died	28 October 1952(1952-10-28) (aged 90) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium
Political party	Australian Socialist League (1891) Labor (to 1916) National Labor (1916–17) Nationalist (1917–29) Independent (1929) Australian (1929–31) United Australia (1931–44) Independent (1944–45) Liberal (from 1945)
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Cutts Mary Campbell
Children	7
Occupation	Politician
Signature

William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics spanned several decades. He was a member of the federal parliament from the Federation of Australia in 1901 until his death in 1952, and is the only person to have served as a parliamentarian for more than 50 years. He represented six political parties during his career, leading five, outlasting four, and being expelled from three.

Hughes was born in London to Welsh parents. He emigrated to Australia at the age of 22, and became involved in the fledgling Australian labour movement. He was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1894, as a member of the New South Wales Labor Party, and then transferred to the new federal parliament in 1901. Hughes combined his early political career with part-time legal studies, and was called to the bar in 1903. He first entered cabinet in 1904, in the short-lived Watson government, and was later the Attorney-General of Australia in each of Andrew Fisher's governments. He was elected deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party in 1914.

Hughes became prime minister in October 1915, when Fisher retired due to ill health. The war was the dominant issue of the time, and his support for sending conscripted troops overseas caused a split within Labor ranks. Hughes and his supporters were expelled from the party in November 1916, but he was able to remain in power at the head of the new National Labor Party,^[1] which after a few months merged with the Liberals to form the Nationalist Party. His government was re-elected with large majorities at the 1917 and 1919 elections. Hughes established the forerunners of the Australian Federal Police and the CSIRO during the war, and also created a number of new state-owned enterprises to aid the post-war economy. He made a significant impression on other world leaders at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, where he secured Australian control of the former German New Guinea.

At the 1922 Australian federal election, the Nationalists lost their majority in parliament and were forced to form a coalition with the Country Party. Hughes's resignation was the price for Country Party support, and he was succeeded as prime minister by Stanley Bruce. He became one of Bruce's leading critics over time, and in 1928, following a dispute over industrial relations, he and his supporters crossed the floor on a confidence motion and brought down the government. After a period as an independent, Hughes formed his own organisation, the Australian Party, which in 1931 merged into the new United Australia Party (UAP). He returned to cabinet in 1934, and became known for his prescient warnings against Japanese imperialism. As late as 1939, he missed out on a second stint as prime minister by only a handful of votes, losing the 1939 United Australia Party leadership election to Robert Menzies.

Hughes is generally acknowledged as one of the most influential Australian politicians of the 20th century. He was a controversial figure throughout his lifetime, and his legacy continues to be debated by historians. His strong views and abrasive manner meant he frequently made political enemies, often from within his own parties. Hughes's opponents accused him of engaging in authoritarianism and populism, as well as inflaming sectarianism; his use of the War Precautions Act 1914 was particularly controversial. His former colleagues in the Labor Party considered him a traitor, while conservatives were suspicious of what they viewed as his socialist economic policies. He was extremely popular among the general public, particularly ex-servicemen, who affectionately nicknamed him "the little digger".