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→top: Clarify the name of the House of Representatives seat won by Lyons.
 
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{{Short description|AustralianPrime politicianMinister (1879–1939)of Australia from 1932 to 1939}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=MayApril 20202024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
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| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100|CH}}
| image = Joseph Aloysius Lyons (cropped).jpg
| order = 10th [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister of Australia]]
| monarch = [[George V]] <br /> [[Edward VIII]] <br /> [[George VI]]
| governor-general = [[Sir Isaac Isaacs]]<br />[[Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie|Lord Gowrie]]
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| governor2 = Sir [[James O'Grady]]
| predecessor2 = [[Walter Lee (Australian politician)|Sir Walter Lee]]
| successor2 = [[John McPhee (Australian politician)|Sir John McPhee]]{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Party leadership positions|titlestyle=background-color:#eee}}
| office3 = Leader of the [[United Australia Party]]<br /><small>Elections: [[1931 Australian federal election|1931]], [[1934 Australian federal election|1934]], [[1937 Australian federal election|1937]]</small>
| term_start3 = 7 May 1931
| term_end3 = 7 April 1939
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| predecessor3 = ''Position Established''
| successor3 = [[Robert Menzies]]
| office4 = Leader of the [[Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch)|Labor Party]] in [[Tasmania]]<br /><small>Elections: [[1919 Tasmanian state election|1919]], [[1922 Tasmanian state election|1922]], [[1925 Tasmanian state election|1925]], [[1928 Tasmanian state election|1928]]</small>
| term_start4 = 2 November 1916
| term_end4 = 16 September 1929
| predecessor4 = [[John Earle (Australian politician)|John Earle]]
| successor4 = [[Albert Ogilvie]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}} {{Collapsed infobox section begin|Federal cabinet posts|titlestyle=background-color:#eee}}
| office5 = [[Treasurer of Australia]]
| term_start5 = 6 January 1932
| term_end5 = 2 October 1935
| primeminister5 = ''Himself''
| predecessor5 = [[Ted Theodore]]
| successor5 = [[Richard Casey, Baron Casey|Richard Casey]]
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| term_start6 = 6 January 1932
| term_end6 = 2 October 1935
| primeminister6 = ''Himself''
| predecessor6 = [[Charles Hawker]]
| successor6 = [[Frederick Stewart (Australian politician)|Frederick Stewart]]
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| primeminister8 = [[James Scullin]]
| predecessor8 = [[William Gibson (Australian politician)|William Gibson]]
| successor8 = [[Albert Green (Australian politician)|Albert Green]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}} {{Collapsed infobox section begin|State cabinet posts|titlestyle=background-color:#eee}}
| office9 = [[Treasurer of Tasmania]]
| term_start9 = 25 October 1923
| term_end9 = 15 June 1928
| premier9 = ''Himself''
| predecessor9 = [[Walter Lee (Australian politician)|Walter Lee]]
| successor9 = [[John McPhee]]
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| premier11 = [[John Earle (Australian politician)|John Earle]]
| predecessor11 = [[Albert Solomon]]
| successor11 = [[Walter Lee (Australian politician)|Walter Lee]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}} {{Collapsed infobox section begin|Constituencies|titlestyle=background-color:#eee}}
| office12 = Member of the [[Australian House of Representatives]]
| constituency12 = [[Division of Wilmot|Wilmot]]
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|alongside13 = [[Walter Lee (Australian politician)|Walter Lee]]; [[John Hope (Australian politician)|John Hope]]; [[Richard Field (politician)|Richard Field]]; [[Jonathan Best]]; [[Jens Jensen (politician)|Jens Jensen]]; [[Herbert Hays]]; [[Michael O'Keefe (Tasmania politician)|Michael O'Keefe]]; [[Norman Cameron (politician)|Norman Cameron]]; [[Edward Mulcahy (Australian politician)|Edward Mulcahy]]; [[Neil Campbell (politician)|Neil Campbell]]; [[John Palamountain]]; [[Ernest Blyth]]; [[William Connell (Australian politician)|William Connell]]; [[Eric Ogilvie]]; [[George Pullen]]; [[Albert Bendall]]; [[Percy Best]]-->
| predecessor15 = ''New division''
| successor15 = [[William Shoobridge]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
| birth_name = Joseph Aloysius Lyons
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1879|9|15}}
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| death_date = {{death date and age|1939|4|7|1879|9|15|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]], Australia
| resting_place = [[Mersey Vale Memorial Park]], [[Quoiba, Tasmania|Quoiba]]
| death_cause = Heart attack
| party = [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] (to 1931)<br />[[Independent politician|Independent]] (1931)<br />[[United Australia Party|UAP]] (after 1931)
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}}
 
'''Joseph Aloysius Lyons''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|CH}} (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who was the tenth [[List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office|10th]] [[Prime Ministerminister of Australia]], in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He began his career in the [[Australian Labor Party]] (ALP), but became the founding leader of the [[United Australia Party]] (UAP) after the [[Australian Labor Party split of 1931]]. He had earlier been 26th [[Premierpremier of Tasmania]] from 1923 to 1928.
 
Lyons was born in [[Stanley, Tasmania|Stanley]], [[Tasmania]], and before entering politics worked as a schoolteacher. He was active in the Labor Party from a young age and won election to the [[Tasmanian House of Assembly]] in 1909. He was [[Treasurer of Tasmania]] (1912–19141914–1916) under [[John Earle (Australian politician)|John Earle]], before replacing Earle as party leader in 1916. After two elections that ended in hung parliaments, Lyons was appointed premier in 1923 at the head of a [[minority government]]. He pursued moderate reforms and successfully negotiated a constitutional crisis over the powers of the [[Tasmanian Legislative Council|Legislative Council]]. At the [[1925 Tasmanian state election|1925 election]] he led Labor to its first majority government in Tasmania, but the party lost office three years later.
 
In 1929, Lyons resigned from state parliament to enter federal politics, winning anthe seat of [[Australian HouseDivision of RepresentativesWilmot|Wilmot]] seat in Labor's landslide victory at the [[1929 Australian federal election|1929 election]]. He was immediately appointed to cabinet by the new prime minister [[James Scullin]], becoming [[Postmaster-General of Australia]] and [[Minister for Works and Railways (Australia)|Minister for Works and Railways]]. In 1930, he was acting treasurer while Scullin was overseas, and came into conflict with the [[Australian Labor Party Caucus|Labor caucus]] over the government's response to the [[Great Depression in Australia|Great Depression]]; he preferred orthodox financial policies. In early 1931, Lyons and his followers left Labor to sit as independents. His exact motivations for leaving the party have been subject to debate. A few months later his group merged with other opposition parties to form the United Australia Party; he was elected [[Leader of the Opposition (Australia)|Leader of the Opposition]].
 
Lyons led the UAP to a landslide victory at the [[1931 Australian federal election|1931 election]]. Nicknamed "Honest Joe", he was known as a masterful political campaigner and became popular with the general public. His personal popularity was a major factor in the government's re-election in [[1934 Australian federal election|1934]] and [[1937 Australian federal election|1937]]; he was the first prime minister to win three federal elections. The UAP initially governed alone but after 1934 formed a coalition with the [[National Party of Australia|Country Party]]. Lyons was his own [[Treasurer of Australia|treasurer]] until 1935 and oversaw Australia's recovery from the Great Depression. He faced a number of foreign-policy challenges, but accelerated Australia's transition towards an independent foreign policy. In the lead-up to World War II his government pursued a policy of appeasement and rearmament.
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Lyons came from a family that was broadly sympathetic to the [[Australian labour movement]], but without any formal political involvement. Though widely read, he did not actively participate in politics until after leaving Stanley. Lyons helped found a branch of the [[Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch)|Workers' Political League]] during his time in Smithton, but was forced to resign his membership due to restrictions on the involvement of public servants in political activities.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=45}} Those rules were later relaxed, and by 1908 he was spending most of his free time campaigning for the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]];{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=54}} he had a reputation as a first-rate orator.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=51}} Lyons was elected to the [[Tasmanian House of Assembly]] at the [[1909 Tasmanian state election|1909 state election]], standing in the six-member [[Division of Wilmot (state)|Division of Wilmot]].{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=64}} This required him to resign from the Education Department and give up his teaching career, which reduced his annual salary from £125 to £100.{{Efn|Tasmanian MPs did not get a pay rise until 1913, when their salary doubled to £200. Lyons was among those who argued for the amount to be increased, on the grounds that their remuneration was insufficient to cover the larger electorates introduced in 1909.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=59}}}} He was comfortably re-elected [[1912 Tasmanian state election|in 1912]], although he was attacked with a horsewhip during one of his campaign speeches. The son of one of his political opponents was convicted of assault, and the incident received widespread media attention.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|pp=75–76}}
 
Labor came to power in Tasmania in 1914, after the existing [[Tasmanian Liberal League|Liberal]] government of [[Albert Solomon]] was defeated on a [[confidence motion]]. The new premier was [[John Earle (Australian politician)|John Earle]], who had previously held office for one week in October 1909.<ref>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography|last= Lake|first= Marilyn|volume=8|year=1981|id2=earle-john-6077|title= Earle, John (1865–1932)}}</ref> In the new government, Lyons was made [[Treasurer of Tasmania|Treasurer]], Minister for Education, and Minister for Railways; it was common for ministers to hold more than one portfolio.<ref name=adb>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography|last1= Hart|first1= P. R. |last2=Lloyd|first2=C. J. |year=1986|id2=lyons-joseph-aloysius-joe-7278|title= Lyons, Joseph Aloysius (1879–1939) |access-date=13 January 2008 }}</ref> He was somewhat inexperienced with economic matters, and often turned to his friend and colleague [[Lyndhurst Giblin]] for advice; they eventually renewed their relationship at federal level during the 1930s.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=101}} Less than a month after taking office, Lyons announced that the government was moving its accounts from the [[Commercial Bank of Tasmania]] to the [[Commonwealth Bank]], which had only been established a few years earlier. In return he was able to secure a substantial loan and an [[overdraft]] of £100,000. The government faced a number of challenges during its two years in office, including a statewide drought, a series of [[bushfires in Australia|bushfires]]s in early 1915, and labour shortages due to the ongoing war.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=99}} As Labor was in [[minority government|minority]], many of its legislative initiatives were thwarted by the opposition.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=103}} The party lost the [[1916 Tasmanian state election|1916 state election]] by two seats, despite increasing its share of the vote.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=104}}
 
[[File:Joseph Lyons - Reynolds.jpg|thumb|upright|Caricature of Lyons as premier]]
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In March, at about the same time as Lyons led his group of defectors from the right of the Labor Party across the floor, five left-wing NSW Labor MPs, supporters of [[New South Wales]] Premier [[Jack Lang (Australian politician)|Jack Lang]], also split from the official Labor Party over the government's economic policies (for Lyons official Labor had been too radical, for the Langites they were not radical enough), forming a "Lang Labor" group on the cross-benches and costing the government its majority in the House of Representatives. Late in the year, the Langite MPs supported a UAP [[motion of no confidence]] and brought the government down, forcing an early election.<ref name=naab/>
 
==Prime Ministerminister==
[[File:Joseph Lyons, 1936 (William McInnes).png|thumb|upright|[[Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]] portrait of Lyons by [[William Beckwith McInnes]], 1936]]
{{Further|Lyons government}}
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Lyons had no previous experience in international relations or diplomacy, but as prime minister took a keen interest in foreign relations and exerted significant influence over the government's foreign policy.{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=23}} His government pursued what has been called a policy of "appeasement and rearmament". Increases in Australia's defence budget in the years before World War II made him "the greatest peace-time rearmer in Australian history", and saw the military rebuilt after severe funding cuts during the Great Depression.{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=31}} Lyons had pacifist leanings and was keen to avoid a repeat of the First World War. These were rooted in his religious convictions, but also influenced by visits to the battlefields of Europe in which he viewed the graves of Australian soldiers. The appeasement aspect of his foreign policy was primarily directed at Italy and Japan, as it was likely that war between those countries and other major powers would affect the important trade routes in the Mediterranean and the Pacific upon which Australia relied. He was particularly concerned with [[Italy–United Kingdom relations|Anglo-Italian]] and [[Japan–United Kingdom relations|Anglo-Japanese relations]], where his goal was to "influence British policy in a manner conducive to Australian interests".{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=26}}
 
According to David Bird, whose book ''The Tame Tasmanian'' examined the Lyons government's foreign policy, there was a growing realisation in the 1930s that Australian interests would not be aligned with British interests in all cases. In order to differentiate the two, Lyons authorised three "Pacific initiatives". The first was the [[Australian Eastern Mission]] of 1934 led by Deputy Prime Minister [[John Latham (judge)|John Latham]], which visited seven Asian countries. The second was the 1935 appointment of Australian government representatives in China, the Dutch East Indies, Japan, and United States – albeit below the rank of ambassador – where previously Australia's interests had been represented solely by British officials. The third was Lyons's "Pacific Pact" proposal, which envisioned a [[non-aggression pact]] between the major powers in the Pacific. Although he championed the pact at the [[1937 Imperial Conference]], discussions failed to progress.{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=25}} In Bird's opinion, "the Lyons years should thus be seen as a part of the evolution of Australian external policy from dependency towards autonomy […] it is perhaps the continuation and acceleration of the process of transition for which Lyons as Prime Minister ought to be best remembered".{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=336}}
 
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXJ164Jhjfg Newsreel footage of Joseph Lyons visiting England for the Silver Jubilee of King George V in 1935], from [[Pathé News]]}}
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|caption3 = (1) Lying in state at [[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney]]<br />(2) Funeral procession <br />(3) Coffin being loaded onto [[HMAS Vendetta (D69)|HMAS ''Vendetta'']] for transport to Tasmania
}}
On 5 April 1939, Lyons suffered a heart attack while being driven from Melbourne to Sydney. It occurred shortly after he had stopped in at [[Goulburn, New South Wales|Goulburn]] to collect his son [[Kevin Lyons|Kevin]] from [[St Patrick's College, Goulburn|St Patrick's College]] for the Easter holidays. Lyons was rushed to [[St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney|St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst]], in a critical condition.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=428}} By the following day, he was unable to speak and was drifting in and out of consciousness. He soon fell into a coma, and died on the morning of 7 April, which was [[Good Friday]].{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=429}} Lyons's body lay in state at [[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney|St Mary's Cathedral]] until 10 April ([[Easter Monday]]). A [[requiem]] service was held the following day, and then a procession bearing his coffin proceeded from the cathedral to [[Circular Quay]]. Lyons's body was transported to his home town of Devonport aboard [[HMAS Vendetta (D69)|HMAS ''Vendetta'']]. His funeral was held at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes on 13 April, and he was buried in the church grounds. He was re-interred in the new [[Mersey Vale Memorial Park]] in 1969, where he was joined by his wife in 1981.{{sfn|Henderson|2011|p=430}}
 
Lyons was the first Australian prime minister to die in office. There was no constitutional precedent as to who should be appointed as his successor, and the situation was further complicated by the UAP's lack of a deputy leader. When the seriousness of Lyons's condition became apparent, [[Earle Page]]—the leader of the [[National Party of Australia|Country Party]] and ''de facto'' [[Deputy Prime Minister of Australia|deputy prime minister]]—called a cabinet meeting, where it was agreed that he should serve as prime minister on an interim basis while the UAP elected a new leader. He was sworn in by Governor-General [[Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie|Lord Gowrie]] a few hours after Lyons's death. The [[1939 United Australia Party leadership election]] was held on 18 April and won by Robert Menzies, who replaced Page as prime minister on 26 April. According to [[Laurie Fitzhardinge]], Lyons's death "removed the only force that had held in check the smouldering animosities and barely suppressed rivalries which divided [the UAP's] members".<ref>{{cite book|first=Laurie|last=Fitzhardinge|title=William Morris Hughes: A Political Biography / Vol. II: The Little Digger, 1914–1952|year=1979|publisher=Angus & Robertson Publishers|pages=650–651}}</ref>
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# Barry Joseph (1928–2015)
# Rosemary Josephine (1929–1999)
# Peter Julian (1931-20211931–2021)
# Janice Mary (1933-20201933–2020)
 
Several years after Lyons's death, his widow Enid also embarked on a political career, becoming the first woman elected to the House of Representatives and serving in cabinet in the post-war [[Menzies Government (1949–66)|Menzies Government]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/lyons/spouse.aspx|title=Australia's PMs > Joseph Lyons > Enid Lyons|publisher=National Archives of Australia|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-date=8 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408175445/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/lyons/spouse.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> Their sons Kevin and Brendan entered Tasmanian politics, becoming state government ministers several decades after their father's death.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1516/ParlRel|title= Parliamentary relations: political families in the Commonwealth Parliament|publisher=Parliament of Australia|date=9 November 2015|access-date=2 April 2019}}</ref> Their grandchildren include [[Libby Lyons]], director of the [[Workplace Gender Equality Agency]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nowtolove.com.au/women-of-the-future/the-weekly/libby-lyons-reducing-the-gender-pay-gap-48661|title= Libby Lyons: 'Reducing the gender pay gap will transform our work and family lives'|magazine=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]]|date=23 May 2018|access-date=2 April 2019}}</ref> and [[Kevin Lyons (judge)|Kevin Lyons Jr.]], who was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vicbar.com.au/news-events/appointment-kevin-lyons-qc|title=Appointment – Kevin Lyons QC|date=22 May 2018|access-date=31 January 2019|publisher=Victorian Bar}}</ref>
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In 2018, a Jim Starkey who is married to Wendy Starkey, a great-granddaughter of another former prime minister Billy Hughes, claimed to be the great-grandson of Lyons.<ref name="pmd">{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/prime-ministers-descendants-descend-on-canberra-20180606-p4zjtu.html |title=Prime ministers' descendants descend on Canberra |last=Brown |first=Andrew |date=9 June 2018 |website=smh.com.au |publisher=[[Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=27 October 2021 }}</ref>
 
However, Starkey's claim of familial relations with Lyons has been disputed by the Lyons family and Lyons biographer Anne Henderson.<ref name="jlb">{{cite web |url=https://www.examiner.com.au/story/6105550/joseph-lyons-biographer-rubbishes-state-uap-candidates-ancestry-claim/ |title=Joseph Lyons biographer rubbishes state United Australia Party candidate Jim Starkey's ancestry claim |last=Inglis|first=Rob |date=3 May 2019 |website=The Examiner |publisher=Australian Community Media |access-date=27 October 2021 }}</ref>
 
==Legacy==
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{{Treasurers of Australia}}
{{TasmaniaPremiers}}
{{Abdication of Edward VIII}}▼
{{Authority control}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Joseph}}
[[Category:Prime Ministersministers of Australia]]
[[Category:Treasurers of Australia]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Opposition (Australia)]]
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[[Category:20th-century Australian politicians]]
[[Category:Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Australian Ministers for Healthhealth of Australia]]
▲{{[[Category:Abdication of Edward VIII}}]]
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