Sir Robert Gordon Menzies was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th prime minister of Australia from 1939 to 1941 and 1949 to 1966. He held office as the leader of the United Australia Party (UAP) in his first term, and subsequently as the inaugural leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, which he was responsible for establishing and defining in policy and political outreach. He is the longest-serving prime minister in Australian history.
Menzies in the 1950s
Article in Melbourne Punch detailing Menzies's feat of topping the state school examinations at the age of 13
Declaration of War Broadcast, September 1939
Australian Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, with his British counterpart, Winston Churchill, London 1941
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet and thus heads the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsible government, the prime minister is both a member and responsible to Parliament. The current prime minister is Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party, who assumed the office on 23 May 2022.
Prime Minister of Australia
Australia's first prime minister, Edmund Barton, at the central table in the House of Representatives in 1901.
John Gorton being sworn in as the 19th Prime Minister on 10 January 1968. To date, Gorton is the only Senator to have served as Prime Minister, though he would swiftly move to the House of Representatives as the member for Higgins.
Prime ministers Curtin, Fadden, Hughes, Menzies and Governor-General The Duke of Gloucester 2nd from left, in 1945.
