T. J. Ryan

The Honourable T. J. Ryan KC
Ryan in 1916
Assistant Leader of the Labor Party
In office 9 September 1920 – 1 August 1921
Leader	Frank Tudor
Preceded by	office established
Succeeded by	Matthew Charlton
Member of the Australian Parliament for West Sydney
In office 13 December 1919 – 1 August 1921
Preceded by	Con Wallace
Succeeded by	William Lambert
19th Premier of Queensland
In office 1 June 1915 – 22 October 1919
Monarch	George V
Governor	Hamilton Goold-Adams
Deputy	Ted Theodore
Preceded by	Digby Denham
Succeeded by	Ted Theodore
Leader of the Opposition in Queensland
In office 6 September 1912 – 1 June 1915
Premier	Digby Denham
Deputy	Ted Theodore
Preceded by	David Bowman
Succeeded by	Edward Macartney
Leader of the Labor Party in Queensland
In office 6 September 1912 – 22 October 1919
Deputy	Ted Theodore
Preceded by	David Bowman
Succeeded by	Ted Theodore
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Barcoo
In office 2 October 1909 – 14 October 1919
Preceded by	George Kerr
Succeeded by	Frank Bulcock
Personal details
Born	Thomas Joseph Ryan (1876-07-01)1 July 1876 Port Fairy, Colony of Victoria
Died	1 August 1921(1921-08-01) (aged 45) Barcaldine, Queensland, Australia
Cause of death	Pneumonia
Resting place	Toowong Cemetery
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Lily Virginia Cook ​ (m. 1910)​
Children	2
Education	South Melbourne College Xavier College, Melbourne
Alma mater	University of Melbourne (BA, LLB)
Occupation	Barrister Teacher

Thomas Joseph Ryan KC (1 July 1876 – 1 August 1921) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1915 to 1919, as leader of the state Labor Party. He resigned to enter federal politics, sitting in the House of Representatives for the federal Labor Party from 1919 until his premature death less than two years later.

Ryan was born in Port Fairy, Victoria, to Irish immigrant parents. He studied arts and law at the University of Melbourne, and worked for several years as a teacher at various private schools around Australia. He eventually settled in Queensland and entered the legal profession, working as a barrister in Brisbane. Ryan was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1909, and became leader of the Labor Party in 1912. He led the party to victory at the 1915 state election, the first time it had secured majority government in Queensland.

As premier, Ryan led a reforming government that implemented many of the planks in the Labor platform, including the expansion of workers' rights, the implementation of price controls, and the establishment of new state-owned enterprises. After the Labor Party split of 1916, Queensland had the only remaining Labor government in Australia, giving Ryan a national profile. His government was re-elected at the 1918 state election but, in the following year, Ryan resigned to enter federal politics, winning the Division of West Sydney in New South Wales at the 1919 federal election. He was widely seen as the heir apparent to the Labor Party's federal leader, Frank Tudor, who was in poor health. Ryan's sudden death from pneumonia, at the age of 45, was seen as a major blow for the labour movement.