43 Facts About Magnus Cormack

Sir Magnus Cameron Cormack KBE was an Australian politician.

Magnus Cormack was a member of the Liberal Party and served multiple terms as a Senator for Victoria, including as President of the Senate from 1971 to 1974.

Magnus Cormack grew up in Adelaide and worked as a production manager with Holden for several years, later farming near Apsley, Victoria.

Magnus Cormack was elected to the Senate presidency in 1971 and retained the position for the first term of the Whitlam government.

Magnus Cormack was born on 12 February 1906 in Wick, Caithness, Scotland.

Magnus Cormack was the oldest of five children born to Violet and William Petrie Cormack.

Magnus Cormack's maternal grandfather John Macdonald Cameron was a Liberal Party member of the British House of Commons.

On 22 November 1935, Magnus Cormack married Mary Isabel Macmeikan at the registrar's office in Melbourne; she was a divorcee.

Magnus Cormack enlisted in the Militia in July 1940, and was posted to anti-aircraft regiments at Puckapunyal and Werribee.

Magnus Cormack was discharged in October 1940, but re-enlisted in June 1941 and was commissioned as a lieutenant.

Magnus Cormack received postings to the Royal Military College, Duntroon, the headquarters of the Australian Imperial Force, and the Staff College.

Magnus Cormack transferred to the regular army in August 1942.

In July 1943, Magnus Cormack arrived in Port Moresby as part of the headquarters staff of the II Corps.

Magnus Cormack moved to the New Guinea Force in January 1944, where he spent four months before leaving for Townsville and receiving his discharge.

Magnus Cormack finished the war with the rank of major and was mentioned in dispatches for "gallant and distinguished service in Papua".

Magnus Cormack was a member of the Young Nationalists before the war, and joined the Liberal Party in 1946.

Magnus Cormack was recruited to the federal policy committee, at the urging of Robert Menzies and Richard Casey.

Magnus Cormack was state president of the Victorian Liberals from 1948 to 1949.

Magnus Cormack stood for the House of Representatives at the 1949 federal election, losing to Bill Bourke in the Division of Fawkner by just 27 votes.

At the 1951 election, Magnus Cormack was elected to the Senate in fifth place on the Coalition ticket in Victoria.

Magnus Cormack was one of the few Liberals to oppose the Menzies Government's attempts to ban the Communist Party, telling Menzies that it was "draconian".

Magnus Cormack's opponent was future prime minister Malcolm Fraser, who was 23 years old at the time.

Magnus Cormack stood for the Senate at the 1955 election without success, and then the following year was defeated by George Hannan in a ballot to fill the casual vacancy caused by John Spicer's resignation.

Magnus Cormack's losses led journalist Don Whitington to describe him as "the unluckiest man in post-war Australian politics".

Magnus Cormack won first place on the Coalition ticket at the 1961 election, and was elected to a six-year Senate term commencing on 1 July 1962.

Magnus Cormack would be re-elected to further six-year terms at the 1967 and 1974 elections.

Magnus Cormack was chairman of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1967 to 1969, and from 1970 to 1971 chaired the Select Committee on Securities and Exchange.

The Liberal Party senators formed Gorton's power base, and Magnus Cormack helped keep them on-side during William McMahon's leadership challenges.

Magnus Cormack had earlier defeated Reg Withers to become the Coalition's nominee for the position, despite Withers having the support of Prime Minister William McMahon.

Magnus Cormack strongly supported the expansion of the committee system, which was a relatively recent innovation, and believed the Senate should function "largely as a committee chamber" rather than simply mirroring the House of Representatives.

Magnus Cormack allowed ministers to cut short debate on a bill by simply moving that it be considered "urgent".

Magnus Cormack was re-elected to the presidency with the support of the Democratic Labor Party's five senators.

Magnus Cormack played a role in the "Gair Affair" of 1974, which had implications for the Whitlam government's ability to pass legislation through the Senate.

Magnus Cormack refused to accept Vince Gair's purported resignation letter, instead judging it to be ambiguous and allowing the Senate to debate whether it should be accepted.

Magnus Cormack defeated Ian Wood to become the Coalition's nominee for the presidency.

Magnus Cormack remained an active player in the Senate after losing the presidency.

Magnus Cormack crossed the floor a total of twelve times during his career, and was a leading opponent of the Fraser government's 1977 referendum proposals; he chaired a campaign urging voters to vote "No" on all four questions.

Magnus Cormack was particularly critical of the proposal for simultaneous elections for the House and Senate, which was the only question where the "No" vote prevailed; he described it as "a fraud and a deceit" which would eventually lead to the Senate's abolition.

In March 1975, Magnus Cormack held a dinner party at his flat in Toorak, where he and other leading Liberals discussed how to remove Billy Snedden from the leadership.

Magnus Cormack was known to support Peacock, who was a close friend and something of a protege.

Fraser suspected Magnus Cormack had actually arranged someone to wait by the back fence and photograph him climbing over, hoping to embarrass him and thus further Peacock's chances.

Magnus Cormack chose to leave by the front door, where there were in fact no photographers.

Magnus Cormack died in Melbourne on 26 November 1994, aged 88, after years of ill health.