File:StateLibQld 1 196899 Sir Arthur William Fadden, November 1949.jpg

Summary

Sir Arthur William Fadden, November 1949.

Arthur William Fadden was born in Ingham, North Queensland, in 1895, being the eldest of ten children. He was educated at Walkerston, near Mackay, and his first job at the age of fifteen was as the 'billy boy' to a gang of canecutters, making their tea and doing other odd jobs. In 1913 he moved into local government as Assistant Town Clerk in Mackay. By the age of twenty-one he had qualified in accountancy and was promoted to Town Clerk. He then set up an accountancy practice in Mackay which became the largest in northern Queensland. Fadden's entry into politics was as a Townsville alderman and then as the Country Party member in State Parliament. He lost his seat in 1935, but in 1936 won the federal seat of Darling Downs. In March 1940 Fadden became a minister in the Menzies government. He became minister for Air and Civil Aviation.

Fadden was elected leader of the Country Party in March 1941 and was Deputy Prime Minister when coalition in-fighting forced Menzies to resign as Prime Minister in August. He was Prime Minister for forty days. Early in October a hostile Labor amendment rejected his budget and he was obliged to resign. The Governor-General commissioned John Curtin as his successor. Fadden stayed in politics and eventually became Treasurer in the Menzies government between 1949 and 1958, a position in which he showed great strength under pressure and great acumen in planning long-term financial policies. He retired from politics in December 1958 and died in Brisbane on 21 April 1973.

Licensing

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