A Day Without A Prime Minister

Fifty-five years ago today, December 18, 1967, Australia experienced a singular event. For the only time since Federation in 1901, a whole day passed without a prime minister in office.

The day before, December 17, prime minister Harold Holt disappeared in the sea off Cheviot Beach, in Portsea, Victoria. On December 18, a search for his body was continuing, but little hope was held for its recovery. It was not until December 19 that Holt’s successor, John McEwen, was sworn in as prime minister.

John McEwen

Dec 18, 1967: Country Party leader John McEwen, ahead of his appointment as prime minister the next day.

Constitutional convention requires that there must always be a prime minister to advise the Governor-General. Two previous prime ministerial deaths in office were followed by same day or next day appointments of a new prime minister.

Prime ministerial resignations following retirement, party leadership challenges or electoral defeat always take place at the precise moment the new prime minister is sworn in. In this way, continuity prevails.

In 1967, Christmas was only a week away. Parliament had adjourned for the year. Politicians had left Canberra. Holt disappeared on a Sunday. Speedy appointment of a new PM was difficult.

An important complication arose because there was no such office as Deputy Prime Minister at that time. Who was the deputy to the prime minister? The deputy leader of the Liberal Party? The leader of the junior coalition party?

Ultimately, the decision about who to appoint had to be made by the Governor-General. Lord Casey, formerly Richard Casey, was a former long-time Liberal Party politician. He served as Treasurer for three and a half years under Lyons in the 1930s. In 1940, he was Minister to the United States, effectively ambassador. In 1944, he was appointed Governor of Bengal. In 1949, he returned to the Commonwealth Parliament as the Liberal member for La Trobe, a new seat in Melbourne’s outer east. Until 1960, he held portfolios in the Menzies government, including ten years as Minister for External Affairs, now called Foreign Affairs. In 1965, Menzies appointed him Governor-General.

Casey’s decision on Holt’s successor was informed by his understanding of politics, the Liberal Party and the coalition relationship. He had served alongside all the key players in the Liberal-Country Party coalition government since 1949.

Two days after Holt’s disappearance, on December 19, the Country Party leader, John McEwen, was sworn in as Australia’s 18th prime minister.

McEwen

Dec 19, 1967: John McEwen is sworn in as PM by G-G Lord Casey.

McEwen’s appointment by Casey was in accordance with the precedent established in 1939, following the death of PM Joseph Lyons on April 7. The Country Party leader, Earle Page, was appointed prime minister the same day. As the leader of the junior coalition partner, he was deemed appropriate as a temporary stand-in.

Page held office over 20 days, from April 7 until April 26, 1939. He relinquished office to the newly-elected leader of the United Australia Party, Robert Menzies.

When Labor prime minister John Curtin died in office in 1945, the choice of replacement was much easier. The deputy leader of the ALP, Frank Forde, was sworn in the next day. He served as PM over 8 days from July 6 until July 13, when he relinquished the prime ministership to the new ALP leader, Ben Chifley.

McEwen held office over 23 days as prime minister from December 19, 1967 until January 10, 1968, when he relinquished the post to the new Liberal Party leader, Senator John Gorton. Gorton subsequently won the by-election for Holt’s Melbourne electorate of Higgins and moved to the lower house. He is the only senator to have ever served as prime minister.

In 1968, the position of Deputy Prime Minister was officially created. John McEwen was the first person to hold the title, even though it had been used unofficially for many years.

Upon taking office in 1967, McEwen paid tribute to Holt. The official statement is shown below:

McEwen statement on Holt


On This Day In 1966: Menzies Retires, Holt Government Takes Office

Having announced his retirement on January 20, Sir Robert Menzies officially departed the prime ministership on this day in 1966. Harold Holt’s first ministry was sworn in at the same time.

It was a historic moment 50 years ago that brought to an end the political career of Australia’s longest-serving prime minister. Menzies had been Prime Minister for two years between April 1939 and August 1941. He formed the Liberal Party in 1944 and served for six years as Opposition Leader before defeating the Chifley Labor government in December 1949.

Menzies went on to win six more elections in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1961 and 1963. When he retired, he had been prime minister for 16 years and 5 weeks.

Holt

Harold Holt took office at the age of 57 with a ministerial career that had started 26 years earlier. He had first served under Menzies in 1940 and had been Treasurer since 1958. [Read more…]


Lem Johns, LBJ Bodyguard, Dies; Witness To JFK Assassination, Spattered With Paint In Australia

Lem Johns, the United States Secret Service agent who was spattered with paint during President Lyndon Johnson’s visit to Australia in 1966, has died, at the age of 88.

Johns, with his right hand raised, can be seen in the picture below on the right hand side of Johnson’s limousine. The incident occurred during a demonstration in Melbourne.

LBJ

Johnson’s visit in October 1966 came just one month before the federal election of November 26. The election was conducted amidst vigorous public debate about Australia’s commitment of conscripted troops to the war in Vietnam. [Read more…]


Costello Hints At Benefits Of Deputies Taking On The Top Job

The Treasurer, Peter Costello, says that the elevation of a deputy leader to the leader’s position allows a government to regenerate and pursue new policy directions.

Peter Costello, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and Member for HigginsLaunching a biography by Tom Frame of former Prime Minister Harold Holt, Costello said “when Holt became Prime Minister the Government had the opportunity to reconsider options that had previously been considered and rejected.”

After 10 years as deputy, Holt became Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister in January 1966, following the retirement of Sir Robert Menzies who had held the office for 16 years. He disappeared in the surf at Portsea on December 19, 1967. [Read more…]