Angus Bethune

Angus Bethune (1946)

Walter Angus Bethune Kt (born December 10, 1908 in Sheffield , Tasmania , † August 22, 2004 ) was a politician of the Liberal Party of Australia , who was Prime Minister of Tasmania between 1969 and 1972 . He was the first prime minister since 1934 who was not provided by the Australian Labor Party .

Life

On November 23, 1946, Bethune was elected for the first time as a candidate for the Liberal Party in the constituency of Wilmot / Lyons as a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly , the lower house of the Tasmanian parliament, and was a member of this until his resignation on June 30, 1975.

During his parliamentary membership he was on March 19, 1960 as successor to William Jackson opposition leader in the House of Representatives and was as such the top candidate of the Liberals in the parliamentary election on May 2, 1964. Here, however, the government of the Labor Party under Prime Minister Eric Reece was confirmed in office and won 19 seats with 90,631 votes (51.32 percent) and thus an absolute majority. The Liberal Party achieved 67,971 votes (38.49 percent) and was able to defend at least its 16 seats.

In the parliamentary elections that followed on May 10, 1969, the Labor Party lost its absolute majority and won just 17 seats with 90,278 votes (47.68 percent). The Liberal Party also won 17 seats with 67,971 votes (43.98 percent) and on May 26, 1969, with Bethune as Prime Minister, formed a coalition with the Center Party , whose sole MP and long-time spokesman for the House of Assembly, Kevin Lyons , was vice - became Prime Minister. Lyons was a son of Joseph Lyons , who from 1923 to 1928 Prime Minister Tasmania and between 1932 and his death in 1939 Prime Minister of Australia was.

During his tenure as Prime Minister, Bethune was from May 26, 1969 to May 3, 1972 at the same time Minister of Finance (Treasurer) and Minister for the Administration of the Hydro-Electric Commission (Minister administering the Hydro-Electric Commission) . Bethune was the first Prime Minister of Tasmania since 1934 not to be nominated by the Labor Party.

In the parliamentary elections of April 22, 1972, the Labor Party won an overwhelming victory. With 108,910 votes (54.93 percent), the ALP gained 7.25 percentage points and now had 21 seats in the House of Representatives. Bethune's Liberal Party only got 76,073 votes (38.37 percent) this time and thus lost 5.61 percentage points and only had 14 parliamentary seats.

After the election defeat, Bethune resigned from the position of opposition leader, which has now been taken over by Max Bingham . On June 30, 1975, after almost 29 years of parliamentary membership, he resigned his seat and retired from political life.

For his many years of political merit, he was beaten to a Knight Bachelor in 1979 and from then on carried the suffix "Sir". After his death, he was buried in a state funeral on August 27, 2004.

Web links

• Entry on the homepage of the Parliament of Tasmania
• Ministers - House of Assembly - 1950 to 1989