Andrew Fisher

The Right Honourable Andrew Fisher
Fisher in 1912
5th Prime Minister of Australia
In office 17 September 1914 – 27 October 1915
Monarch	George V
Governor‑General	Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson
Preceded by	Joseph Cook
Succeeded by	Billy Hughes
In office 29 April 1910 – 24 June 1913
Monarchs	Edward VII George V
Governors‑General	Lord Dudley Lord Denman
Preceded by	Alfred Deakin
Succeeded by	Joseph Cook
In office 13 November 1908 – 2 June 1909
Monarch	Edward VII
Governor‑General	Lord Dudley
Preceded by	Alfred Deakin
Succeeded by	Alfred Deakin
Leader of the Opposition
In office 8 July 1913 – 17 September 1914
Prime Minister	Joseph Cook
Preceded by	Joseph Cook
Succeeded by	Joseph Cook
In office 2 June 1909 – 29 April 1910
Prime Minister	Alfred Deakin
Preceded by	Alfred Deakin
Succeeded by	Alfred Deakin
Leader of the Labor Party
In office 30 October 1907 – 27 October 1915
Deputy	Gregor McGregor Billy Hughes
Preceded by	Chris Watson
Succeeded by	Billy Hughes
High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
In office 1 January 1916 – 22 April 1921
Preceded by	Sir George Reid
Succeeded by	Joseph Cook
Member of the Australian Parliament for Wide Bay
In office 30 March 1901 – 26 October 1915
Preceded by	Seat created
Succeeded by	Edward Corser
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Gympie
In office 25 March 1899 – 9 May 1901 Serving with George Ryland
Preceded by	Jacob Stumm
Succeeded by	Daniel Mulcahy
In office 25 May 1893 – 11 April 1896 Serving with William Smyth
Preceded by	Matthew Mellor
Succeeded by	Jacob Stumm
Personal details
Born	(1862-08-29)29 August 1862 Crosshouse, Ayrshire, Scotland
Died	22 October 1928(1928-10-22) (aged 66) Hampstead, London, England
Resting place	Hampstead Cemetery
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Margaret Irvine ​ (m. 1901)​
Children	6
Profession	Miner trade union official
Signature

Andrew Fisher (29 August 1862 – 22 October 1928) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the fifth prime minister of Australia from 1908 to 1909, 1910 to 1913 and 1914 to 1915. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and was particularly notable for leading Labor to its first federal election victory and first majority government.

Fisher was born in Crosshouse, Ayrshire, Scotland. He left school at a young age to work in the nearby coal mines, becoming secretary of the local branch of the Ayrshire Miners' Union at the age of 17. Fisher emigrated to Australia in 1885, where he continued his involvement with trade unionism. He settled in Gympie, Queensland, and in 1893 was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly as a representative of the Labor Party. Fisher lost his seat in 1896, but returned in 1899 and later that year briefly was a minister in the government of Anderson Dawson.

In 1901, Fisher was elected to the new federal parliament representing the Division of Wide Bay. He was the Minister for Trade and Customs for a few months in 1904, in the short-lived government of Chris Watson. Fisher was elected deputy leader of the ALP in 1905 and replaced Watson as leader in 1907. He initially provided support to the minority government of Protectionist leader Alfred Deakin, but in November 1908 the ALP withdrew its support and Deakin resigned as prime minister. Fisher subsequently formed a minority government of his own. It lasted only a few months, as in June 1909 Deakin returned as prime minister at the head of a new anti-socialist Liberal Party.

Fisher returned as prime minister after the 1910 federal election, which saw Labor attain majority government for the first time in its history. His second government passed wide-ranging reforms – old-age and disability pensions, enshrined new workers' rights in legislation, established the Commonwealth Bank, oversaw the continued expansion of the Royal Australian Navy, began construction on the Trans-Australian Railway, and formally established what is now the Australian Capital Territory. However, at the 1913 election the ALP narrowly lost its House of Representatives majority to the Liberal Party, with Fisher being replaced as prime minister by Joseph Cook.

After just over a year in office, Cook was forced to call a new election, the first double dissolution. Labor won back its majority in the House, and Fisher returned for a third term as prime minister. During the election campaign he famously declared that Australia would defend Britain "to the last man and the last shilling". However, he struggled with the demands of Australia's participation in World War I and in October 1915 resigned in favour of his deputy Billy Hughes. Fisher subsequently accepted an appointment as the High Commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom, holding the position from 1916 to 1920. After a brief return to Australia, he retired to London, dying there at the age of 66. His cumulative total of just under five years as prime minister is the second-longest by an ALP leader, surpassed only by Bob Hawke.