Sir Robert Gordon Menzies was the third son of James Menzies, a country storekeeper. He was educated at Jeparit State School, and Humffray Street State School, Ballarat, where he headed the scholarship list for Victoria. He then attended Grenville College, Ballarat and Wesley College, Melbourne, where he was awarded an English Scholarship. At the University of Melbourne he gained a first class honours degree in Law, won several prizes of distinction and edited the university magazine.

After being admitted to the Victorian Bar and to the High Court of Australia in 1918, Menzies established a successful barrister’s practice in Melbourne. In 1928 he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council as member for East Yarra, transferring to the state’s Legislative Assembly the following year. In 1932 he became Victorian Attorney-General and Minister for Railways in the Argyle Government and acted as Premier for a short time in early 1934.

In 1931 Menzies had been involved in the establishment of the United Australia Party (UAP) which brought J A Lyons to office as Prime Minister at the end of that year. Menzies entered federal politics as UAP member for Kooyong (Vic) at the 1934 general election, and held this seat through 11 subsequent general elections. He became federal Attorney-General and Minister for Industry, and was elected Deputy Leader of the UAP in 1935. The same year, he was Leader of the Commonwealth delegation to the Empire Parliamentary Association and in 1936 was a member of the ministerial delegation to the Ottawa Conference. In March 1939 Menzies resigned his portfolios and the deputy leadership in protest against the government's decision to drop its national insurance scheme. After the death of Lyons in early April 1939, however, he was elected Leader of the UAP and became Prime Minister of a UAP Government (to March 1940) and, subsequently, of a UAP-Country Party Coalition Government. Menzies resigned the Prime Ministership in August 1941, but continued to serve as Minister for Defence Co-ordination under the Prime Ministership of A W Fadden until the election of the Curtin Labor Government in October that year. Menzies was also a member of the War Cabinet (1939-1941), the Economic Cabinet (1940-1941) and the Advisory War Council (1940-1944). He was Leader of the Opposition from September 1943 to December 1949, and in 1944 was instrumental in the formation of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Menzies became Prime Minister for the second time on 19 December 1949, following the defeat of the Chifley Government. During this record 17-year term as Prime Minister, he regularly acted in various portfolios, especially as Treasurer and Minister for External Affairs, in the absence of his senior Ministers. He also chaired the Commonwealth Literary Fund Committee (1950-1965), served on parliamentary committees relating to standing orders (1950-1966) and constitutional review (1956-1959), and established the first committee on the New Parliament House (1965-1966). Menzies travelled overseas extensively to Europe, Canada, South-east Asia, New Zealand, the United States, South Africa and India at the invitation of the respective governments. He attended the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as a Royal Guest in June 1953, various Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ Conferences (1955-1965), the 22 Nation Conference on the Suez Canal (1956), United Nations General Assembly (1960) and SEATO meetings (1960-1961). He resigned the Prime Ministership on 26 January 1966 and retired from Parliament on 17 February 1966.

Menzies was appointed a King's Counsel in 1929 and a Privy Councillor in 1937. He was made a Companion of Honour in 1951, knighted in 1963, and held honorary degrees awarded by several institutions worldwide between 1941 and 1967. He was also given the Freedom of the City in several cities in Australia and Europe. Menzies represented Australia at the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill, and succeeded him as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1965. He was also the author of several books including: The Rule of Law During War; To the People of Britain at War; The Forgotten People; Speech is of Time; Afternoon Light; Central Power in the Australian Commonwealth; and was joint author of Studies in Australian Constitution.

Sir Robert Menzies was made a Knight of the Order of Australia in 1976 and died in Melbourne on 15 May 1978. He was survived by his wife, Dame Pattie (nee Leckie) (CP 939), whom he had married in September 1920.

Sources

Commonwealth Parliamentary Handbook, 15th edition, 1965

A W Martin, Allan W, 'Menzies, Sir Robert Gordon (Bob) (1894–1978)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/menzies-sir-robert-gordon-bob-11111/text19783, published first in hardcopy 2000, accessed online 11 September 2020.

This person registration was revised as part of the Prime Ministers Papers’ Project (May 2002).

Unregistered agencies associated with person

1928-1929: Victorian Legislative Council - Member for East Yarra
1928-1929: Minister without portfolio (Victoria)
1929-1934: Victorian Legislative Assembly - Member for Nunwading
1932-1934: Victorian Attorney-General's Department - Attorney-General
1932-1934: Victorian Department of Railways - Minister
1932-1934: Victorian Solicitor-General's Department - Solicitor
           -General
1932-1934: Victorian Board of Land and Works - Vice-President
1934-1934: Victorian Premier's Department - Acting Premier
1935-1936: Ministerial delegation to United Kingdom - Member
1938-1938: Australian Ministerial delegation on the Ottawa
           Agreement - Member
1952-1952: Australian delegation to the Commonwealth Financial and
           Economic Conference - Member
1956-1956: Australian delegation to the International (22 Nation)
           Conference on the Suez Canal - Member
1956-1956: Five Nation Committee of the International (22 Nation)
           Conference on the Suez Canal - Chairman