Arthur Fadden

Sir Arthur William Fadden ( born April 13, 1894 in Ingham, Queensland, † 21 April 1973 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) was the 13th Prime Minister of Australia. His term lasted only 40 days from 29 August 1941 to 7 October 1941. Afterwards he was in the time of 8 October 1941, to September 23, 1943 opposition leader.

The time before he became prime minister (until August 1941)

Arthur Fadden was the eldest of ten children of Irish immigrants Richard and Annie Fadden, born in Moorhead. His father, an officer of the Mounted Police, was after Walkerston, near Mackay, offset, he went to school there.

In 1909 he began to work at the local sugar cane plantation before he 's assistant in a sugar mill was a little later. At age 19, he became assistant to the Town Clerk of Mackay, until he was appointed city manager in 1916 after completing his training as an accountant because of his skills themselves. On December 27, 1916, he married Ilma Thornber Nita, with whom he had four children. In September 1918 he went as an independent accountant to Townsville.

There he developed his interest in politics and in 1930 was a member of the city council of Townsville. He joined Queensland Country and Progressive National Party, for which he was able to win the seat in 1932 for the constituency of Kennedy in the state parliament. He was elected in the by-elections on 19 November 1936 as a representative of the Country Party (CP ) in the Australian House of Representatives.

After the August 13, 1940 three ministers had come from the office of the then Prime Minister Robert Menzies in a plane crash killed - Arthur Fadden originally wanted to take the same flight to Canberra - he was, ironically, a day later as Minister of Civil Aviation and as Minister for the Air Force added to the Cabinet. In a cabinet reshuffle in October of the same year he was finally for the first time finance minister of Australia, his immediate successor in the aviation ministry was John McEwen.

The end of 1940 there were elections to the party presidency of the Country Party to a stalemate between the candidates Earle Page and John McEwen, so that Arthur Fadden was determined according to a compromise for the temporary chairman. On March 13, 1941, he was however confirmed as party chairman.

The time as Prime Minister ( August-October 1941)

To prevent the expansion of a political crisis Robert Menzies resigned on the advice of his party the United Australia Party (UAP ) and its coalition partner the Country Party, so that Fadden was able to assume the office of the Prime Minister with an otherwise unchanged Cabinet.

Also Faddens government, as it did his predecessor had to be tolerated, the problem of two independent MPs in the House of Representatives. He explored, given the war time in which one was of ways to form a government with the involvement of all parties represented in parliament. However, this failed due to opposition of the Australian Labor Party (ALP ) under John Curtin. On October 3, eventually voted against the two independent MPs Faddens Budget Law for the year ahead. A majority for his government was no longer to be found, which consequently led to his replacement in office on October 7.

The time when he was prime minister ( from October 1941)

Arthur Fadden was now leader of the opposition in the Australian Parliament. In the coming elections on August 21, 1943, he and the Conservatives suffered a significant defeat. He was also forced the leadership of the opposition to Robert Menzies returned. He remained, however, party leader of the Country Party for the next 17 years.

After the parliamentary elections of 10 December 1949, the newly formed in 1944 Liberal Party of Australia (LP ) and the Country Party could form a government under the lead again Robert Menzies again. Fadden was thus the second time Minister of Finance, a position he maintained until his retirement in the age of retirement.

In 1951, he was initially charged as Knight Commander ( KCMG ) of the Order of St Michael and St George to knighthood. 1958 was raised within the Order to Knight Grand Cross ( GCMG ) its status.

On March 26, 1958, he gave up the party presidency of the Country Party. On 22 November of the same year, he also resigned his seat and was replaced on December 10, as finance minister Harold Holt.

After peaceful years in retirement, he died on 21 April 1973 about two weeks after his 79th birthday in Brisbane.

A suburb of Canberra and a constituency in Queensland have been named in his honor after him.