Joseph Cook

The Right Honourable Sir Joseph Cook GCMG
Cook, c. 1914
6th Prime Minister of Australia
In office 24 June 1913 – 17 September 1914
Monarch	George V
Governors General	Lord Denman Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson
Preceded by	Andrew Fisher
Succeeded by	Andrew Fisher
Leader of the Opposition
In office 8 October 1914 – 17 February 1917
Prime Minister	Andrew Fisher Billy Hughes
Preceded by	Andrew Fisher
Succeeded by	Frank Tudor
In office 20 January 1913 – 24 June 1913
Prime Minister	Andrew Fisher
Preceded by	Alfred Deakin
Succeeded by	Andrew Fisher
In office 26 November 1908 – 26 May 1909
Prime Minister	Andrew Fisher
Preceded by	George Reid
Succeeded by	Alfred Deakin
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
In office 1 July 1910 – 20 January 1913
Leader	Alfred Deakin
Preceded by	Gregor McGregor
Succeeded by	John Forrest
In office 26 May 1909 – 2 June 1909
Leader	Alfred Deakin
Succeeded by	Gregor McGregor
Party leadership positions Leader of the Liberal Party In office 20 January 1913 – 17 February 1917 Deputy John Forrest Preceded by Alfred Deakin Succeeded by Party abolished Leader of the Anti-Socialist Party In office 26 November 1908 – 26 May 1909 Deputy Vacant Preceded by George Reid Succeeded by Party abolished
Cabinet posts Treasurer of Australia In office 28 July 1920 – 20 December 1921 Prime Minister Billy Hughes Preceded by William A. Watt Succeeded by Stanley Bruce Minister for the Navy In office 17 February 1917 – 28 July 1920 Prime Minister Billy Hughes Preceded by Jens A. Jensen Succeeded by William Laird Smith Minister for Home Affairs In office 24 June 1913 – 17 September 1914 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by King O'Malley Succeeded by William Archibald Minister for Defence In office 2 June 1909 – 29 April 1910 Prime Minister Alfred Deakin Preceded by George Pearce Succeeded by George Pearce
High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
In office 11 November 1921 – 10 May 1927
Preceded by	Andrew Fisher
Succeeded by	Granville Ryrie
Constituencies Member of the Parliament of Australia for the Division of Parramatta In office 30 March 1901 – 11 November 1921 Preceded by Division created Succeeded by Herbert Pratten Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Hartley In office 6 June 1891 – 30 March 1901 Serving with George Donald (1891–1894) Preceded by John Hurley Succeeded by John Hurley
Personal details
Born	Joseph Cooke (1860-12-07)7 December 1860 Silverdale, Staffordshire, England
Died	30 July 1947(1947-07-30) (aged 86) Bellevue Hill, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	Northern Suburbs Crematorium, Sydney
Political party	Labor (until 1894) Independent (1894) Free Trade (1894–1909) Commonwealth Liberal (1909–1917) Nationalist (from 1917)
Spouse	Mary Turner ​ (m. 1885)​
Children	George Sydney Cook Albert Cook Joseph William Cook John Hartley Cook Annette Margaret Cook Winifred Emmie Cook Richard Cecil Cook Constance Mary Cook Raymond Fletcher Cook
Parents	William Cook (father) Margaret Cook (née Fletcher) (mother)
Occupation	Coal miner, trade unionist

Sir Joseph Cook GCMG (7 December 1860 – 30 July 1947) was an Australian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of Australia, from 1913 to 1914. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party, having previously been leader of the Anti-Socialist Party from 1908 to 1909.^[1] His victory at the 1913 election marked the first time that a centre-right party had won an outright majority at an Australian federal election.^[2]

Cook was born in Silverdale, Staffordshire, England, and began working in the local coal mines at the age of nine. He emigrated to Australia in 1885, settling in Lithgow, New South Wales. He continued to work as a miner, becoming involved with the local labour movement as a union official. In 1891, Cook was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as a representative of the Labor Party, becoming one of its first members of parliament. He was elected party leader in 1893, but the following year left Labor due to a disagreement over party discipline. He was then invited to become a government minister under George Reid, and joined Reid's Free Trade Party.

In 1901, Cook was elected to the new Federal Parliament representing the Division of Parramatta. He became deputy leader of the federal Free Trade Party (later renamed the Anti-Socialist Party), again under George Reid, and in 1908 replaced Reid as party leader and Leader of the Opposition. In what became known as "the fusion", Cook agreed to merge his party with Alfred Deakin's Protectionist Party in 1909, forming a unified anti-Labor party for the first time. He became deputy leader of the new Liberal Party, allowing Deakin to become prime minister again, and was Minister for Defence until the government's defeat at the 1910 election.

Cook replaced Deakin as leader of the Liberals in January 1913, and a few months later won a one-seat majority over Andrew Fisher's Labor Party at the 1913 election. His party failed to secure a majority in the Australian Senate, making governing difficult, and as a result he engineered the first double dissolution. A new election was called for September 1914, at which the Liberals lost their majority; Fisher returned as prime minister. Cook was unable to pass much legislation during his time in office, but did oversee the early stages of Australia's involvement in World War I. He subsequently became Leader of the Opposition for a third time.

In 1917, Cook was involved in a second party merger, joining the Liberals with Billy Hughes's National Labor Party to form the Nationalist Party. He became the de facto deputy prime minister under Hughes, serving as Minister for the Navy (1917–1920) and Treasurer (1920–1921). He was a delegate to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, where he was a member of the committee that determined the borders of Czechoslovakia, and along with Hughes was one of two Australians to sign the Treaty of Versailles. After leaving politics, Cook was High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1921 to 1927. He died at the age of 86 as one of the last survivors of the first federal parliament.