Ted Theodore

The Honourable Ted Theodore
Treasurer of Australia
In office 29 January 1931 – 6 January 1932
Prime Minister	James Scullin
Preceded by	James Scullin
Succeeded by	Joseph Lyons
In office 22 October 1929 – 9 June 1930
Prime Minister	James Scullin
Preceded by	Earle Page
Succeeded by	James Scullin
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party
In office 5 February 1929 – 19 December 1931
Leader	James Scullin
Preceded by	Arthur Blakeley
Succeeded by	Frank Forde
Member of Parliament for Dalley
In office 26 February 1927 – 19 December 1931
Preceded by	William Mahony
Succeeded by	Sol Rosevear
20th Premier of Queensland Elections: 1920, 1923
In office 22 October 1919 – 26 February 1925
Monarch	George V
Deputy	John Fihelly William Gillies
Governor	Hamilton Goold-Adams Matthew Nathan
Preceded by	T. J. Ryan
Succeeded by	William Gillies
4th Deputy Premier of Queensland
In office 1 June 1915 – 22 October 1919
Premier	T. J. Ryan
Preceded by	Thomas O'Sullivan
Succeeded by	John Fihelly
State cabinet posts Chief Secretary In office 22 October 1919 – 26 February 1925 Preceded by T. J. Ryan Succeeded by William Gillies 24th Treasurer of Queensland In office 8 February 1922 – 26 February 1925 Preceded by John Fihelly Succeeded by William Gillies In office 22 October 1919 – 9 March 1920 Preceded by Himself Succeeded by John Fihelly In office 1 June 1915 – 22 October 1919 Premier T. J. Ryan Preceded by Walter Barnes Succeeded by Himself Secretary for Public Works In office 8 February 1922 – 6 October 1922 Preceded by John Fihelly Succeeded by William Forgan Smith In office 1 June 1915 – 22 October 1919 Premier T. J. Ryan Preceded by T. J. Ryan Succeeded by Walter Barnes
State party positions Leader of the Labor Party in Queensland In office 22 October 1919 – 24 February 1925 Deputy John Fihelly William Gillies Preceded by T. J. Ryan Succeeded by William Gillies Deputy Leader of the Labor Party in Queensland In office 7 September 1912 – 22 October 1919 Preceded by T. J. Ryan Succeeded by John Fihelly
State electorates Member of the Legislative Assembly for Woothakata In office 27 April 1912 – 22 September 1925 Preceded by New seat Succeeded by John O'Keefe Member of the Legislative Assembly for Chillagoe In office 2 October 1909 – 27 April 1912 Preceded by Michael Woods Succeeded by Seat abolished
Personal details
Born	Edward Granville Theodore[a] (1884-12-29)29 December 1884 Port Adelaide, Province of South Australia, British Empire
Died	9 February 1950(1950-02-09) (aged 65) Edgecliff, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	South Head Cemetery, Bronte
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Esther Mahoney ​ (m. 1909)​
Relations	Stephen (brother)
Children	4

Edward Granville Theodore (29 December 1884 – 9 February 1950) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1919 to 1925, as leader of the state Labor Party. He later entered federal politics, serving as Treasurer in the Scullin Labor government.

Theodore was born in Adelaide, the son of a Romanian immigrant. He left school at the age of 12, and spent the next decade working his way around the country. He arrived in Queensland in 1906, and soon became involved in the labour movement. Theodore was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1909, aged just 24. He was also elected state president of the Australian Workers' Union in 1913. Theodore became Treasurer of Queensland following Labor's victory at the 1915 state election.

In 1919, Theodore succeeded T. J. Ryan as premier. His government pursued various interventionist economic policies, establishing a number of state-run enterprises and introducing new competition and labour market regulations. These perceived steps towards socialism led to Theodore being nicknamed "Red Ted". A notable constitutional reform was the abolition of the Queensland Legislative Council in 1922; Queensland remains the only Australian state with no upper house in its parliament. Theodore was popular among the general public, and won two state elections (1920 and 1923) before resigning in 1925 to enter federal politics. He was defeated at his first attempt, but two years later won a by-election for a seat in Sydney.

In 1929, Theodore was elected deputy leader to James Scullin. He became Treasurer and de facto Deputy Prime Minister after the 1929 election, but resigned after less than a year amid accusations of corruption. Theodore returned as a Treasurer in early 1931, and served until the government's landslide defeat at the 1931 election, where he lost his own seat. He had little success in combating the Great Depression, and disputes over economic policy led to a party split and several defections to Lang Labor and the United Australia Party. Theodore was only 47 when he left politics, and went on to have a successful business career as a partner of Frank Packer.

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