Thomas White (Australian politician)

Sir Thomas White KBE, DFC, VD
White in Melbourne, c. 1940
Minister for Air and Civil Aviation
In office 19 December 1949 – 11 May 1951
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Arthur Drakeford
Succeeded by	Philip McBride (Air) Larry Anthony (Civil Aviation)
Minister for Trade and Customs
In office 14 January 1933 – 8 November 1938
Prime Minister	Joseph Lyons
Preceded by	Henry Gullett
Succeeded by	John Perkins
High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
In office 21 June 1951 – 20 June 1956
Preceded by	Eric Harrison
Succeeded by	Eric Harrison
Member of the Australian Parliament for Balaclava
In office 3 August 1929 – 21 June 1951
Preceded by	William Watt
Succeeded by	Percy Joske
Personal details
Born	(1888-04-26)26 April 1888 North Melbourne, Colony of Victoria
Died	13 October 1957(1957-10-13) (aged 69) South Yarra, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Nationalist (1929–1931) United Australia (1931–1945) Liberal (1945–1951)
Spouse	Vera Deakin ​ (m. 1920)​
Profession	Soldier company director
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Citizen Military Forces (1902‍–‍1940) Australian Flying Corps (1914‍–‍1920) Citizen Air Force (1940‍–‍1944)
Service years	1902–1944
Rank	Group captain
Unit	Mesopotamian Half Flight (1915)
Commands	6th Battalion (1926‍–‍1931)
Battles/wars	First World War Mesopotamian campaign Second World War European theatre
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Flying Cross Mentioned in Despatches (2) Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration

Sir Thomas Walter White, KBE, DFC, VD (26 April 1888 – 13 October 1957) was an Australian politician and pilot in the First World War. In 1914 he became one of the first airmen trained for the Australian Flying Corps (AFC), and the following year he was among the first AFC members to see action when he was deployed to the Middle East with the Mesopotamian Half Flight. After carrying out several missions behind Turkish lines, he was captured in November 1915 but escaped in July 1918. White was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and twice mentioned in despatches for his war service. He married Vera Deakin, a Red Cross worker and daughter of former Australian prime minister Alfred Deakin, in 1920.

White began his parliamentary career in 1929 when he was elected to the House of Representatives as the Member for Balaclava in Victoria. He served as Minister for Trade and Customs in Joseph Lyons's United Australia Party government from 1933 to 1938, but resigned when he was excluded from Lyons's inner cabinet. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War and saw service in Australia and the United Kingdom. Returning to parliament as a member of the newly formed Liberal Party in 1945, he served as Minister for Air and Minister for Civil Aviation in Robert Menzies's government from 1949 to 1951. His term coincided with the commitment of RAAF squadrons to the Korean War and the Malayan Emergency. Australia's high commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1951 to 1956, White was knighted in 1952 and died in 1957.