Les Bury

Les Bury

Leslie "Les" Harry Ernest Bury , CMG (born February 25, 1913 in London , England , † September 7, 1986 in Sydney , New South Wales ) was an Australian politician and, among other things, foreign minister of the country.

Early life

Bury was born in the British capital London and attended Queens' College in Cambridge . During World War II , he served in the Second Australian Imperial Force . Between 1943 and 1945 he was used in the light artillery and the 12th Australian Radar Detachment . He worked for the Australian Treasury in the 1940s and then as Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and as Australian Representative in the International Monetary Fund from 1951 to 1956.

Political career

Bury was elected as a member of the Liberal Party of Australia in the Wentworth constituency in 1956 in a by-election following the resignation of Eric Harrison, who had been appointed Australian High Commissioner in Great Britain , as Member of the Australian Parliament . Bury was appointed Minister of Aviation for Australia and later Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in Robert Menzies ' ninth term in December 1961. He was dismissed on July 27, 1962 for speaking out in favor of Great Britain joining the EC and saying that "European integration should be avoided by the the common market is an essential expression, a milestone for the survival of the West ". That statement contrasted with Vice Prime Minister John McEwen's concerns that it would jeopardize trade relations with the UK. In 1963 he became Minister for Housing.

In January 1966, Les Bury finally became Minister of Labor in Harold Holt's first term during the Vietnam War , during which he was responsible for enforcing conscription in Australia . During John Gorton's first term in 1968 and 1969, Phillip Lynch served as Secretary of State for the Army. Opponents of conscription used the slogan "Lynch Bury and Bury Lynch". In November 1969, Bury became Treasury Secretary for Gorton's second term. When William McMahon became Prime Minister in 1971, he initially kept Bury as Treasury Secretary, but after only two weeks he turned him over to the post of Foreign Secretary . In August of the same year he fired Bury. Because of health problems, Les Bury resigned from the Australian Parliament in 1974.

In June 1979, on the occasion of the British Queen's birthday, he was honored to be part of a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG).

Bury died in Sydney , leaving behind his wife Anne and four sons Peter, Michael, John and Nicholas.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bob Hawke : Death of the Hon. LHEBury, CMG . In: Hansard . Parliament of Australia. September 16, 1986 . Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 22, 2007.  
2. ↑ ^{a b} Peter King : Bury, Mr Les . In: Hansard . Parliament of Australia. Pp. 15279-15280. May 28, 2003 . Archived from the original on October 2, 2003. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
3. ↑ Peter Coleman : Death of the Hon. LHEBury, CMG . In: Hansard . Parliament of Australia. September 16, 1986. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 22, 2007.  
4. ↑ Don Dobie : Death of the Hon. LHEBury, CMG . In: Hansard . Parliament of Australia. September 16, 1986 . Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 22, 2007.  
5. ↑ Bury, Leslie Harry Ernest . In: It's an Honor . Government of Australia. Retrieved October 20, 2007.
6. ↑ Ian Sinclair : Death of the Hon. LHEBury, CMG . In: Hansard . Parliament of Australia. September 16, 1986 . Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 22, 2007.