George Pearce
Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO ( born January 14, 1870 in Mount Barker, South Australia, † June 24, 1952 in Melbourne, Victoria) was an Australian politician and, among others, Foreign Minister of the country.
Early life
Pearce, a carpet maker, was born in Mount Barker, South Australia and attended in his school days, the Red Hill Public School until he was eleven years old. He worked constantly on Farms and later became tent-makers in Adelaide, but lost his job there during the economic depression in 1891 and moved to Western Australia. There he joined the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners and quickly became involved in the trade union movement. In April 1897, he married Eliza Maud Barrett.
Political career
In 1893, Pearce helped found the Progressive Political League, a predecessor of the ALP. After he had himself trained in politics and business, he was elected at the first federal election in 1901 as a senator in the Australian parliament for Western Australia. He was not the first laboratory cabinet under Prime Minister Chris Watson in 1904. In 1908, he became minister of defense in the government of Andrew Fisher. He oversaw the establishment of the Navy Colleges in Jervis Bay and the Royal Military College Duntroon. In 1914 Australia entered the First World War. After Billy Hughes ' ascent to the Prime Minister, Pearce was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Labor Party.
During this time, voices grew louder after the introduction of conscription in Australia and, contrary to the majority of his party colleagues also Pearce was for their introduction. Like many other founding members of the party followed the Premier Pearce Hughes in the newly established National Labor Party (later the Nationalist Party of Australia ).
Many of the breakaway laboratory members played in the following years, hardly an issue, but Pearce continued his career successfully. After Hughes ' replacement in the Nationalist Party of Australia Pearce also took a post as minister Stanley Bruce. In 1932, Pearce joined the newly formed United Australia Party, where he held a ministerial post under Joseph Lyons until the election defeat. At that time he was the last senator who was elected in 1901 at the first federal election in Australia. He was 37 years and three months as a senator in office, which is a record. As a minister, he served a total of 24 years and seven months, which is another record. Among other things, he was Foreign Minister of the country.
Pearce died at home in Elwood, a suburb of Melbourne. He left two sons and two daughters.
Special
George Pearce was appointed Knight of the Royal Victorian Order. The RAAF Base Pearce is the same as the suburb of Canberra, Pearce, named after him after him.