Sir William McMahon was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, from 1971 to 1972, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
85 Facts About William McMahon
2.
William McMahon was a government minister for over 21 years, the longest continuous service in Australian history.
3.
William McMahon served in the Australian Army during World War II, reaching the rank of major.
4.
William McMahon was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1949 federal election.
5.
William McMahon held several different portfolios in the Menzies government, most notably as Minister for Labour and National Service from 1958 to 1966.
6.
William McMahon then succeeded Holt as deputy leader of the Liberal Party.
7.
William McMahon was appointed Treasurer in the Holt government, and over the following three years oversaw a large reduction in the national deficit.
8.
William 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.
9.
William McMahon eventually forced Gorton's resignation in early 1971, winning a vote against Billy Snedden.
10.
William McMahon became prime minister at the age of 63, and remains the oldest non-interim prime minister to take office.
11.
William McMahon's government has been described by the Australian Dictionary of Biography as "a blend of cautious innovation and fundamental orthodoxy".
12.
William McMahon resigned the Liberal leadership, but remained in parliament until 1982 as a backbencher.
13.
William McMahon has been described as one of Australia's worst prime ministers by Australian political scientists and historians, and after leaving office several of his former colleagues openly criticised his leadership style and personal character.
14.
William McMahon was born in Redfern, Sydney, New South Wales, on 23 February 1908.
15.
William McMahon was the third of five children born to solicitor William Daniel McMahon and Mary, daughter of a sailmaker; an older brother predeceased him.
16.
William McMahon's paternal grandfather, James "Butty" William McMahon, was born in County Clare, Munster, Ireland, and married Mary Coyle of County Fermanagh, Ulster, Ireland.
17.
William McMahon arrived in Australia as a child, and eventually founded his own freight company, which became one of the largest in Sydney.
18.
William McMahon's mother died in 1917, when he was nine years old, and he was raised by her relatives.
19.
William McMahon moved home frequently as he was shifted between family members, living for periods in Kensington, Beecroft, Gordon, and Centennial Park.
20.
William McMahon saw little of his father or his siblings, who were raised separately; his older brother James died of Spanish flu in 1919.
21.
William McMahon began his education at Abbotsholme College, a short-lived private school in Killara.
22.
William McMahon's father died when he was 18, leaving him a substantial inheritance.
23.
William McMahon had failed the leaving certificate at Sydney Grammar, but by passing a matriculation exam was able to enter the University of Sydney in 1927.
24.
William McMahon, who lived at St Paul's College, was more interested in the social scene than his degree.
25.
William McMahon spent his inheritance freely, owning several racehorses, and was known for betting significant amounts on the races.
26.
William McMahon was assigned to the Commonwealth Bank and the Bank of New South Wales for periods, which helped spark his interest in economics.
27.
William McMahon had hoped to practise as a barrister, but his partial deafness made this impractical.
28.
William McMahon's hearing remained an issue throughout his life, making parliamentary debates hard to follow, but did improve somewhat through surgery and the use of hearing aids.
29.
William McMahon transferred to the Australian Imperial Force in October 1940, and was promoted to captain in 1942 and to major in 1943.
30.
William McMahon was turned down for overseas service due to his hearing loss and a knee injury.
31.
William McMahon later served on the headquarters staff of the II Corps and the Second Army.
32.
In 1947, William McMahon returned to the University of Sydney to study economics and public administration.
33.
William McMahon graduated with a Bachelor of Economics degree in 1948, completing the course two years early due to his previous studies.
34.
William McMahon topped his economics class and won two prizes for proficiency in his final year.
35.
William McMahon was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1949 federal election, winning the newly created Division of Lowe for the Liberal Party.
36.
William McMahon's candidacy was endorsed by Billy Hughes, who had known his grandfather.
37.
William McMahon soon developed a reputation as "a deadly earnest, dogged, enormously hardworking and dedicated member".
38.
In July 1951, William McMahon replaced Philip McBride as Minister for the Navy and Minister for Air.
39.
William McMahon subsequently approved and oversaw Donald Hardman's proposal to reorganise the Royal Australian Air Force along functional command lines.
40.
William McMahon effectively became the junior minister to John McEwen, the deputy leader of the Country Party and Minister for Trade.
41.
William McMahon was promoted to Minister for Labour and National Service after the 1958 election, in place of Harold Holt.
42.
William McMahon oversaw the creation and administration of what became the National Service Act 1964, which re-introduced compulsory conscription for 20-year-old males in anticipation of further Australian involvement in South-East Asia.
43.
William McMahon attempted to reduce the influence of trade unions known to be controlled by the Communist Party, particularly the Waterside Workers' Federation.
44.
In 1964, William McMahon was made Vice-President of the Executive Council, further confirming his status within the government.
45.
In 1966, William McMahon was elected the Liberal Party of Australia's deputy leader under Harold Holt.
46.
When Holt disappeared in December 1967, William McMahon was assumed to be his probable successor.
47.
McEwen did not state his reasons publicly, but privately he told William McMahon he did not trust him.
48.
McEwen, an arch-protectionist, correctly suspected that William McMahon favoured policies of free trade and deregulation.
49.
William McMahon therefore withdrew, and Senator John Gorton won the subsequent party room ballot for party leader and therefore Prime Minister.
50.
William McMahon remained Treasurer and waited for his chance at a comeback.
51.
William McMahon was demoted from Treasurer to Minister for External Affairs.
52.
William McMahon was then elected leader, and Gorton was elected deputy leader.
53.
William McMahon came into office at a bad time for the Coalition, which was increasingly seen as tired and unfocused after 22 years in power.
54.
Since Gorton had been elected as Liberal deputy leader, William McMahon was all but forced to name him Defence Minister.
55.
William McMahon found himself dealing with a resurgent Labor Party under Gough Whitlam.
56.
William McMahon was no match in parliamentary debates for Whitlam, a witty and powerful orator.
57.
William McMahon frequently found himself on the defensive as Whitlam attacked the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War and advocated radical new policies such as universal health insurance.
58.
William McMahon was not helped by rising inflation, which hurt his reputation as a sound economic manager.
59.
Additionally, the Liberal Party was showing severe schisms, which came at an especially bad time since William McMahon had, at most, two years before the next election.
60.
In June 1971, William McMahon cancelled Gorton's planned nuclear power program, which had included a reactor capable of generating weapons-grade plutonium.
61.
William McMahon considered it inconsistent with the goals of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed under Gorton in 1970 and ratified under Whitlam in 1973.
62.
Late on election night, with the result beyond doubt, William McMahon conceded defeat, ending the longest unbroken run in government in Australian history.
63.
William McMahon had been a minister continuously for 21 years and 6 months, a record in the Australian Government that has never been threatened.
64.
William McMahon concludes by saying that McMahon was a "totally unworthy individual and the fact that he was Prime Minister of this country was a disgrace".
65.
William McMahon did not immediately resign as Liberal leader, but it soon became clear that there was no support for him to continue.
66.
William McMahon became the first Prime Minister to have lost an election and had retained his seat who did not then serve as Leader of the Opposition.
67.
William McMahon assisted Danny Sankey in bringing a private prosecution against Whitlam, which eventually came before the High Court as Sankey v Whitlam.
68.
William McMahon was the sole Father of the House after the 1980 election, winning election for a fourteenth and final time at the age of 72.
69.
William McMahon left parliament in January 1982, citing dissatisfaction with the 1981 budget as a major factor in his decision to retire before a general election.
70.
William McMahon nominated future prime minister Malcolm Turnbull as his preferred successor in Lowe, but the Liberal Party chose another candidate Philip Taylor.
71.
William McMahon was the last former Prime Minister to be reelected to Parliament until Kevin Rudd in 2010.
72.
In retirement, William McMahon devoted much of his time to working on his memoirs, which he planned to title A Liberal View.
73.
In 1984, William McMahon endorsed Bob Hawke and the Labor Party for re-election over the Coalition, which he said would not be ready for government for another four or five years.
74.
William McMahon died in his sleep at St Luke's Private Hospital, Potts Point, on the morning of 31 March 1988.
75.
William McMahon's remains were cremated at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium.
76.
In 1965, aged 57, William McMahon married Sonia Rachel Hopkins, who was then aged 32.
77.
William McMahon had proposed six months after the pair first met.
78.
William McMahon would survive him by over twenty years, dying aged 77 on 2 April 2010.
79.
Julian William McMahon is an actor and model while Melinda and Deborah lead largely private lives.
80.
William McMahon developed an interest in theology as a teenager, and read widely on the subject over the rest of his life.
81.
William McMahon cited the works of William Temple as a major influence.
82.
William McMahon was one of the few contemporary politicians to speak publicly on the connection between their religious and political beliefs.
83.
William McMahon was nicknamed "Billy the Leak" for his willingness to divulge intimate and confidential information to the media.
84.
Some writers have defended William McMahon's reputation, arguing that he was a skilled politician who has been unfairly scapegoated for an almost inevitable election loss.
85.
William McMahon was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1966, a Companion of Honour in the 1972 New Year Honours, and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1977.