Of the 31 individuals who have served as prime minister of Australia, 8 have had prior or concurrent military service, while 23 have had no prior military service. Despite the fact that the democratically accountable Australian Cabinet (chaired by the Prime Minister) de facto controls the Australian Defence Force, prior military service is not a prerequisite for prime ministers of Australia. They are as followed:

No. Portrait Name

(birth–death)
Constituency

Military service Notes
Rank Branch/service Years of service Allegiance Unit Battles/wars
1 Edmund Barton(1849–1920)MP for Hunter, NSW Has no prior military service
2 Alfred Deakin(1856–1919)MP for Ballaarat, Vic[a] Has no prior military service
3 Chris Watson(1867–1941)MP for Bland, NSW Has no prior military service
4 George Reid(1845–1918)MP for East Sydney, NSW Has no prior military service
(2) Alfred Deakin(1856–1919)MP for Ballaarat, Vic[a] Has no prior military service
5 Andrew Fisher(1862–1928)MP for Wide Bay, Qld Has no prior military service
(2) Alfred Deakin(1856–1919)MP for Ballaarat, Vic[a] Has no prior military service
(5) Andrew Fisher(1862–1928)MP for Wide Bay, Qld Has no prior military service
6 Joseph Cook(1860–1947)

MP for Parramatta, NSW

Has no prior military service
(5) Andrew Fisher(1862–1928)MP for Wide Bay, Qld Has no prior military service
7 Billy Hughes(1862–1952)MP for West Sydney, NSW (until 1917)MP for Bendigo, Vic (1917–22)MP for North Sydney, NSW (from 1922) British Army 1874–1884 United Kingdom Royal Fusiliers (volunteer battalion) *None Joined a volunteer battalion of the Royal Fusiliers while a teenager in London.[1] Claimed to have served briefly in both the Queensland Defence Force and the Queensland Maritime Defence Force, but biographers have not been able to verify this.[1]
Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes in his Royal Fusiliers uniform.
Unknown Queensland Defence Force Unknown Unknown
Queensland Maritime Defence Force
8 Stanley Bruce(1883–1967)MP for Flinders, Vic Captain British Army 1914–1917 United Kingdom 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers World War 1 Was severely wounded at Gallipoli;[2][3] awarded the Military Cross and the Croix de Guerre avec Palme.[4][5]
9 James Scullin(1876–1953)MP for Yarra, Vic Has no prior military service
10 Joseph Lyons(1879–1939)

MP for Wilmot, Tas

Has no prior military service
11 Earle Page(1880–1961)MP for Cowper, NSW Lieutenant commander Australian Army 1916–1917 Australia Australian Army Medical Corps World War 1 Officer in the Australian Army Medical Corps, stationed in Egypt and France during World War I[6]
12 Robert Menzies(1894–1978)MP for Kooyong, Vic Has no prior military service
13 Arthur Fadden(1894–1973)MP for Darling Downs, Qld Has no prior military service
14 John Curtin(1885–1945)MP for Fremantle, WA Has no prior military service
15 Frank Forde(1890–1983)MP for Capricornia, Qld Has no prior military service
16 Ben Chifley(1885–1951)MP for Macquarie, NSW Has no prior military service
(12) Robert Menzies(1894–1978)MP for Kooyong, Vic Has no prior military service
17 Harold Holt(1908–1967)MP for Higgins, Vic Gunner Second Australian Imperial Force, Australian Army 1939–1940 Australia 2/4th Field Regiment World War II Enlisted in the Army in 1939 while a Member of Parliament and was a gunner for 5 months before being recalled after the death of three senior ministers in the Canberra air disaster in 1940.[7]
18 John McEwen(1900–1980)MP for Murray, Vic Private Australian Army 1918 Australia World War 1 (did not see conflict) Enlisted in the Army in 1918, and was in camp awaiting embarkation for France when the armistice was declared.[8]
19 Sir John Gorton(1911–2002)MP for Higgins, Vic Flight Lieutenant Royal Australian Air Force 1940–1944 Australia World War II Enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1940.[9] A fighter pilot in World War II, flying Hurricanes out of Singapore and later Kittyhawks out of Milne Bay,[9][10] Flight Lieutenant Gorton had three serious crashes, one of which gave him serious facial injuries. He also survived being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine while evacuating from Singapore aboard an ammunition ship, spending 24 hours in the water before rescue.[10]
John Gorton prior to leaving for war service in 1941
20 William McMahon(1908–1988)MP for Lowe, NSW Major Second Australian Imperial Force ,Australian Army 1940–1945 Australia 6th Division World War II Enlisted in the Army in 1939/40. Reached rank of Major, but due to a hearing impediment was deemed unfit for overseas service and was confined to work in Australia, where he was a quartermaster for the II Corps and the Second Army.[11]
21 Gough Whitlam(1916–2014)MP for Werriwa, NSW Flight Lieutenant Royal Australian Air Force 1941–1945 Australia No. 13 Squadron World War II Served in World War II in the RAAF as a navigator, reached the rank of Flight Lieutenant. Stationed in northern Australia, protecting convoys and conducting bombing raids on islands to the north.[12]
22 Malcolm Fraser(1930–2015)MP for Wannon, Vic Has no prior military service
23 Bob Hawke(1929–2019)MP for Wills, Vic Has no prior military service
24 Paul Keating(b. 1944)MP for Blaxland, NSW Has no prior military service
25 John Howard(b. 1939)MP for Bennelong, NSW Has no prior military service
26 Kevin Rudd(b. 1957)MP for Griffith, Qld Has no prior military service
27 Julia Gillard(b. 1961)MP for Lalor, Vic Has no prior military service
(26) Kevin Rudd(b. 1957)MP for Griffith, Qld Has no prior military service
28 Tony Abbott(b. 1957)MP for Warringah, NSW Has no prior military service
29 Malcolm Turnbull(b. 1954)MP for Wentworth, NSW Has no prior military service
30 Scott Morrison(b. 1968)MP for Cook, NSW Has no prior military service
31 Anthony Albanese(b. 1963)MP for Grayndler, NSW Has no prior military service

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Ballarat was spelt Ballaarat until the 1973 election.

References

  1. ^ a b Fitzhardinge, L. F. (1964). William Morris Hughes: A Political Biography. Vol. 1: That Fiery Particle, 1862–1914. Angus & Robertson. p. 17. ISBN 0207137463.
  2. ^ Lee, David K. C. (2010). Stanley Melbourne Bruce: Australian Internationalist. London: Continuum Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-8264-4566-7.
  3. ^ Stirling, Alfred (1974). Lord Bruce: The London Years. Melbourne: Hawthorn Press. p. 485. ISBN 0-7256-0125-6.
  4. ^ "Second Supplement". London Gazette (29460): 1337. 1 February 1916. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Second Supplement". London Gazette (29486): 2068. 22 February 1916. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Obituary: Sir EARLE PAGE, P.C., G.C.M.G., C.H., Hon.D.Sc. M.B., Ch.M., Hon.F.R.C.S., F.R.A.C.S". British Medical Journal. 2 (5269): 1787. 1961. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5269.1787. PMC 1970945.
  7. ^ Frame, Tom (2005). The Life and Death of Harold Holt. Allen & Unwin / National Archives of Australia. pp. 16–22. ISBN 978-1-74114-672-1.
  8. ^ Golding, Peter S. (1996). Black Jack McEwen: Political Gladiator. Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN 0522847188.
  9. ^ a b Hancock, Ian (2002). John Gorton: He Did It His Way. Hodder. p. 33. ISBN 0-7336-1439-6.
  10. ^ a b Trengove, Alan (1969). John Grey Gorton: An Informal Biography. Melbourne: Cassell Australia. pp. 73–80. ISBN 0304939641.
  11. ^ Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war: the Second World War Archived 10 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Australian Parliamentary Library, 9 September 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  12. ^ Lloyd, Clem (2008). Grattan, Michelle (ed.). Australian Prime Ministers (revised ed.). Sydney: New Holland Publishers Pty Ltd. pp. 324–354.
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