Government of Menzies VII

The Menzies VII government ruled Australia from December 10, 1958 to December 18, 1963. It was a coalition government of the Liberal Party (LP) and the Country Party (CP).

In the general election on November 22, 1958 , both the Liberal Party and the Country Party won one seat each in the House of Representatives and now had 77 out of 124 seats. In the Senate , the coalition received 32 of the 60 seats. The parliamentary election that followed on December 9, 1961 resulted in a stalemate in the House of Representatives. The Labor Party received 62 of the 124 seats, the Liberal Party 45 and the Country Party 17. The only advantage of the governing coalition was the limited voting rights of the two Labor MPs from the Territories. In the early election to the House of Representatives on November 30, 1963 , the LP-CP coalition was able to win back its majority and won 72 of the 124 seats. Menzies, who had been Prime Minister since 1949, continued to lead a coalition government of Liberal and Country Party.

List of ministers

cabinet
Office	minister	Political party	Term of office	image
prime minister	Robert Menzies	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Minister of Commerce	John McEwen	CP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Treasury minister	Harold Holt	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Foreign minister	Richard Casey	LP	December 10, 1958 - February 4, 1960
	Robert Menzies	LP	February 4, 1960 - December 22, 1961
	Garfield Barwick	LP	December 22, 1961 - December 18, 1963
Research Minister	Richard Casey	LP	December 10, 1958 - February 4, 1960
	Robert Menzies	LP	December 22, 1961 - February 16, 1962
Vice President of the Executive Council	Bill Spooner	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Minister for National Development
Defense Minister	Athol Townley	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Minister for Territories	Paul Hasluck	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Minister for Labor and Conscription	William McMahon	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Minister for Aviation	Shane Paltridge	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Minister for Shipping and Transport			December 10, 1958 - February 5, 1960
Postmaster General	Charles Davidson	CP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Minister for Immigration	Alick Downer	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Attorney General	Garfield Barwick	LP	December 22, 1961 - December 18, 1963
Minister for Primary Industry	Charles Adermann	CP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Junior minister
Research Minister	Donald Alastair Cameron	LP	February 4, 1960 - December 22, 1961
	John Gorton	LP	February 16, 1962 - December 18, 1963
Minister for Shipping and Transport	Hubert Opperman	LP	February 5, 1960 - December 18, 1963
Minister for Repatriation	Walter Cooper	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 29, 1960
	Frederick Osborne	LP	December 29, 1960 - December 22, 1961
	Reginald Swartz	LP	December 22, 1961 - December 18, 1963
Minister of Health	Donald Alastair Cameron	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 22, 1961
	Harrie Wade	CP	December 22, 1961 - December 18, 1963
Army minister	John Cramer	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Minister for the Air Force	Frederick Osborne	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 29, 1960
	Harrie Wade	CP	December 29, 1960 - December 22, 1961
	Les Bury	LP	December 22, 1961 - July 27, 1962
	David Fairbairn	LP	August 4, 1962 - December 18, 1963
Minister of Social Affairs	Hugh Roberton	CP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Minister for Customs and Excise Taxes	Denham Henty	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Minister of Supply	Alan Hulme	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 22, 1961
	Allen Fairhall	LP	December 22, 1961 - December 18, 1963
Interior minister	Gordon Freeth	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Building minister
Naval Minister	John Gorton	LP	December 10, 1958 - December 18, 1963
Assistant Minister in the Treasury	Les Bury	LP	December 22, 1961 - July 27, 1962
Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs	John Gorton	LP	March 23, 1960 - December 18, 1963
Assistant Minister in Support of the Attorney General	Gordon Freeth	LP	February 22, 1962 - December 18, 1963

Web links

• Parliamentary Handbook for the 45th Parliament. (PDF; 13.4 MB) Part 6: Historical information on the Australian Parliament - Ministries and Cabinets. Parliament of Australia, p. 541 f. , accessed on May 11, 2019 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Stephen Barber: Federal election results 1901–2016 — Reissue 2. (PDF; 2.9 MB) Parliament of Australia, pp. 9, 39, 140 , accessed on May 11, 2019 .  
2. ↑ Stephen Barber: Federal election results 1901–2016 — Reissue 2. (PDF; 2.9 MB) Parliament of Australia, pp. 9, 40, 140 , accessed on May 11, 2019 .  
3. ↑ Stephen Barber: Federal election results 1901–2016 — Reissue 2. (PDF; 2.9 MB) Parliament of Australia, pp. 10, 41 , accessed on May 12, 2019 .  
4. ^ AW Martin: Menzies, Sir Robert Gordon (Bob) (1894–1978) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 15. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 2000, ISBN 0-522-84843-5 (English).
5. ^ Johannes H. Voigt : History of Australia. Alfred Kröner, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-520-48801-9 , pp. 262-264.