William McMahon

Major The Right Honourable Sir William McMahon GCMG CH PC
McMahon in 1971
20th Prime Minister of Australia
In office 10 March 1971 – 5 December 1972
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor‑General	Sir Paul Hasluck
Deputy	Doug Anthony
Preceded by	John Gorton
Succeeded by	Gough Whitlam
Leader of the Liberal Party
In office 10 March 1971 – 20 December 1972
Deputy	John Gorton Billy Snedden
Preceded by	John Gorton
Succeeded by	Billy Snedden
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party
In office 20 January 1966 – 10 March 1971
Leader	Harold Holt John Gorton
Preceded by	Harold Holt
Succeeded by	John Gorton
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 12 November 1969 – 22 March 1971
Prime Minister	John Gorton Himself
Preceded by	Gordon Freeth
Succeeded by	Les Bury
Treasurer of Australia
In office 26 January 1966 – 11 November 1969
Prime Minister	Harold Holt John McEwen John Gorton
Preceded by	Harold Holt
Succeeded by	Les Bury
Vice-President of the Executive Council
In office 10 June 1964 – 26 January 1966
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Bill Spooner
Succeeded by	Alan Hulme
Minister for Labour and National Service
In office 10 December 1958 – 26 January 1966
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Athol Townley
Succeeded by	Hugh Robertson
Minister for Primary Industry
In office 11 January 1956 – 10 December 1958
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	John McEwen
Succeeded by	Charles Adermann
Minister for Social Services
In office 9 July 1954 – 28 February 1956
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Athol Townley
Succeeded by	Hugh Robertson
Minister for the Navy Minister for the Air Force
In office 17 July 1951 – 9 July 1954
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Philip McBride
Succeeded by	Josiah Francis (Navy) Athol Townley (Air Force)
Father of the House
In office 20 September 1980 – 5 January 1982
Preceded by	Clyde Cameron
Succeeded by	Malcolm Fraser
Member of the Parliament of Australia for Lowe
In office 10 December 1949 – 4 January 1982
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Michael Maher
Personal details
Born	(1908-02-23)23 February 1908 Redfern, New South Wales, Australia
Died	31 March 1988(1988-03-31) (aged 80) Potts Point, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Sonia Hopkins ​ (m. 1965)​
Children	3, including Julian
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Profession	Lawyer
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	Australian Imperial Force
Years of service	1940–1945
Rank	Major
Unit	6th Division
Battles/wars	World War II

This article is part of a series about William McMahon
Early life World War II service Member for Lowe (1949–1982) Minister for the Army Minister for the Navy Minister for Social Services Minister for Primary Industry Minister for Labour and National Service National Service Act 1964 Treasurer of Australia Veto in the 1968 Liberal Party leadership election 1969 Liberal Party leadership spill Minister for Foreign Affairs 1971 Liberal Party leadership spill Prime Minister of Australia Term of government (1971–1972) Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd Withdrawal of combat troops from the Vietnam War Dismissal of John Gorton Ministries McMahon Ministry Elections 1972
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Sir William McMahon^[a] GCMG CH PC (23 February 1908 – 31 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. He was a government minister for over 21 years, the longest continuous service in Australian history.

McMahon was born and raised in Sydney, and worked as a commercial lawyer before entering politics. He served in the Australian Army during World War II, reaching the rank of major. After the war's end he returned to university to complete an economics degree. McMahon was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1949 federal election. Robert Menzies promoted him to the ministry in 1951 and added him to cabinet in 1956. He held several different portfolios in the Menzies government, most notably as Minister for Labour and National Service from 1958 to 1966. In that capacity, he oversaw the reintroduction of conscription in 1964.

In 1966, Menzies retired and was replaced as prime minister by Harold Holt. McMahon then succeeded Holt as deputy leader of the Liberal Party. He was appointed Treasurer in the Holt government, and over the following three years oversaw a large reduction in the national deficit. After Holt's death in 1967, McMahon wished to contest the Liberal leadership but had his candidacy vetoed by John McEwen, the leader of the Country Party. The new prime minister was John Gorton. McMahon initially continued on as Treasurer in the Gorton government, but in 1969 was demoted to Minister for External Affairs after an unsuccessful challenge for the leadership. He eventually replaced Gorton in March 1971 following Gorton’s resignation, winning a vote against Billy Snedden.

McMahon became prime minister at the age of 63, and remains the oldest non-interim prime minister to take office. His government has been described by the Australian Dictionary of Biography as "a blend of cautious innovation and fundamental orthodoxy". It continued many of the policies of its immediate predecessors, such as the phased withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam. In its final year it faced high inflation and unemployment. Gough Whitlam's Labor Party defeated McMahon at the 1972 federal election, ending 23 consecutive years of Coalition rule. No other Australian prime minister has served for longer without winning a general election. He resigned the Liberal leadership, but remained in parliament until 1982 as a backbencher.

McMahon has been described as one of Australia's worst prime ministers by Australian political scientists and historians,^[1][2][3][4] and after leaving office several of his former colleagues openly criticised his leadership style and personal character. Whitlam, his successor, acknowledged him as "an extraordinarily skilful, resourceful and tenacious politician", and credited him with having prevented a larger margin of defeat in 1972.

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