Person number |
CP 206 |
Name |
Hon George MCLEAY |
Date range |
06 Aug 1892 - 14 Sep 1955 |
Series recorded by this person |
Series |
Person note |
George McLeay was born in 1892 at Port Clinton on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia and educated at local schools in Port Clinton and Unley and then at Muirden College in Adelaide. He was initially employed as a clerk before setting up his own business, McLeay Bros. Furniture Importers, in Adelaide.
McLeay was first elected to the Senate as a Senator for South Australia in 1934 (taking his seat from 1 July 1935). He was defeated in the 1946 general elections but held the seat under the Constitution until June 1947. He was re-elected in December 1949 and remained in the Senate until his death in 1955.
As a Senator, McLeay was a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances (1935-38), Government Whip (1937), Leader of the Government in the Senate (1938-41), Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (1941-1947) and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate (1947-55).
McLeay's first portfolio was as Minister for Commerce (1939-40) in the first Menzies Ministry. He was subsequently Minister for Trade and Customs (1940), Postmaster General and Minister for Repatriation (1940-41) and Minister for Supply and Development (1941). In this period he was also Vice President of the Federal Executive Council on two occasions (1938-39 and 1940-41), a member of War Cabinet (September-November 1939), a member of the Economic Cabinet (1939-40) and its successor, the Economic and Industrial Committee of Cabinet (1940-41). In April 1945, McLeay was Assistant to the Australian Delegation at the United Nations Conference on International Organisation in San Francisco.
Following his return to federal Parliament and the re-election of the Menzies Government in December 1949, McLeay became Minister for Shipping and Fuel (1949-50), then Minister for Fuel, Shipping and Transport (1950-51) and Minister for Shipping and Transport (1951-55). He also acted as Minister for Commerce and Agriculture on several occasions (1950-54) and in other portfolios during absences of the respective Ministers.
Sources
Parliamentary Handbook 1953 (pp 206-207) and 1957 (pp 184-185)
War Cabinet Minutes: CRS A2673, item 1
Who's Who in Australia 1941 (p 558) and 1955 (p 509)
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Agencies associated with person |
01 Jul 1935 - 30 Jun 1947 CA 691, Department of the Senate - Senator for South Australia 26 Sep 1935 - 17 Nov 1938 CA 726, Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances - Member (Chairman from 31 Aug 1937) 07 Nov 1938 - 06 Oct 1941 CA 691, Department of the Senate - Leader of the Government in the Senate 07 Nov 1938 - 26 Apr 1939 CA 2, Federal Executive Council - Vice-President 26 Apr 1939 - 14 Mar 1940 CA 28, Department of Commerce, Central Office - Minister 27 Sep 1939 - 01 Nov 1939 CA 1468, War Cabinet Secretariat - Member 01 Dec 1939 - 31 May 1940 14 Mar 1940 - 28 Oct 1940 CA 10, Department of Trade and Customs, Central Office - Minister 02 Jul 1940 - 07 Oct 1941 CA 464, Economic and Industrial Committee (of Cabinet) - Member 28 Oct 1940 - 26 Jun 1941 CA 16, Repatriation Department [I] - Minister 28 Oct 1940 - 06 Oct 1941 CA 2, Federal Executive Council - Vice-President 28 Oct 1940 - 26 Jun 1941 CA 9, Postmaster-General's Department, Central Administration - Postmaster General 26 Jun 1941 - 06 Oct 1941 CA 33, Department of Supply and Development [I] Central Office - Minister 08 Oct 1941 - 31 May 1947 CA 691, Department of the Senate - Leader of the Opposition in the Senate 19 Dec 1949 - 16 Mar 1950 CA 53, Department of Shipping and Fuel, Central Office - Minister 20 Dec 1949 - 14 Sep 1955 CA 691, Department of the Senate - Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate 22 Feb 1950 - 14 Sep 1955 CA 691, Department of the Senate - Senator for South Australia 17 Mar 1950 - 11 May 1951 CA 55, Department of Fuel, Shipping and Transport, Central Office - Minister 13 Sep 1950 - 25 Oct 1950 CA 48, Department of Commerce and Agriculture, Central Office - Acting Minister 11 May 1951 - 14 Sep 1955 CA 59, Department of Shipping and Transport, Central Office - Minister 24 Aug 1951 - 10 Nov 1951 CA 48, Department of Commerce and Agriculture, Central Office - Acting Minister 01 Sep 1952 - 22 Nov 1952 CA 29, Department of Civil Aviation, Central Office - Acting Minister 07 Nov 1952 - 11 Jan 1953 CA 48, Department of Commerce and Agriculture, Central Office - Acting Minister 01 Sep 1954 - 31 Dec 1954 CA 48, Department of Commerce and Agriculture, Central Office - Acting Minister
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Date registered |
30 Sep 1987 |
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