The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation

Australian Defence Organisation

The Australian Defence Organisation is an Australian Government organisation which consists of the Australian Defence Force and the civilian Department of Defence personnel supporting the ADF...

, which comprises the Department of Defence (Australia)

Department of Defence (Australia)

The Australian Department of Defence is a Federal Government Department. It forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation along with the Australian Defence Force . The Defence mission is to defend Australia and its national interests...

 and the Australian Defence Force

Australian Defence Force

The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...

. Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith (Australian politician)

Stephen Francis Smith , is the Australian Minister for Defence. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993, representing the Division of Perth, Western Australia....

 is the current Minister.

Ministers for Defence

There was a Minister for Defence from 1 January 1901 until 13 November 1939. Robert Menzies

Robert Menzies

Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....

, the Prime Minister, abolished the position on the outbreak of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and created separate Ministers for the Navy, the Army and the Air, with himself as Minister for Defence Coordination in his first ministry

First Menzies Ministry

The First Menzies Ministry was the twenty-sixth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 26 April 1939 to 14 March 1940.United Australia Party*Rt Hon Robert Menzies, KC MP: Prime Minister, Treasurer...

. He retained this position until the fall of his government, and then held the post in the brief government of Arthur Fadden

Arthur Fadden

Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:...

. John Curtin

John Curtin

John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...

 initially followed the same arrangement as Menzies in his ministry

First Curtin Ministry

The First Curtin Ministry was the thirtieth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and held office from 7 October 1941 to 21 September 1943.Australian Labor Party...

 until 14 April 1942, when he took the title of Minister for Defence. The separate titles of Ministers for the Navy, the Army and the Air were abolished in the second Whitlam Ministry

Second Whitlam Ministry

The Second Whitlam Ministry was the forty-ninth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 19 December 1972 to 12 June 1974.Australian Labor Party*Hon Gough Whitlam, QC MP: Prime Minister. Minister for Foreign Affairs...

 on 30 November 1973, when the separate departments of Navy, Army and Air were also abolished. There had also been a separate Navy portfolio between 1915 and 1921.

There have also been ministers responsible for defence materiel at different times. From 1939 to 1974 they were called Minister of Supply or similar. The current Minister for Defence Materiel

Minister for Defence Materiel (Australia)

The Australian Minister for Defence Materiel is Jason Clare, who was appointed on 14 September 2010. The ministry is part of the portfolio of the Minister for Defence and is administered through the Department of Defence...

 is Jason Clare

Jason Clare

Jason Dean Clare is the Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for the seat of Blaxland in the western suburbs of Sydney. He won election in the 2007 Australian federal election....

. From 1939 to 1974 there was a position of Minister of Supply or similar. There have also been ministers responsible for defence personnel for most of the period since 1987, currently the Minister for Defence Personnel, Warren Snowdon

Warren Snowdon

Warren Edward Snowdon is an Australian politician. He is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives. He represented the Division of Northern Territory from July 1987 to March 1996, and from October 1998 to November 2001.Since November 2001 he has represented the...

.

Order	Minister	Period	Party affiliation
1	James Dickson James Dickson Sir James Robert Dickson, KCMG was an Australian politician and businessman, the 13th Premier of Queensland and a member of the first federal ministry....	1901	Protectionist Party Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...
2	John Forrest John Forrest Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....	1901
3	James Drake James Drake James George Drake , Australian politician, was a member of the first federal ministry.Drake was born in London and educated at King's College School, and migrated to Australia in 1873, working as a storekeeper and journalist in Queensland...	1901–03
4	Austin Chapman Austin Chapman Sir Austin Chapman KCMG , Australian politician, was a member of several early federal ministries. He was born in Bong Bong near Bowral, New South Wales and educated at Marulan Public School and was apprenticed as a saddler at an early age...	1903–04
5	Anderson Dawson Anderson Dawson Andrew Dawson , usually known as Anderson Dawson, was an Australian politician, the Premier of Queensland for one week in 1899...	1904	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
6	James McCay James Whiteside McCay Lieutenant General Sir James Whiteside McCay KCMG, KBE, CB, VD was an Australian general and politician. A graduate of the University of Melbourne, where he earned Master of Arts and Master of Laws degrees, he established a successful legal practice, McCay & Thwaites...	1904–05	Protectionist Party Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...
7	Thomas Playford Thomas Playford II Thomas Playford served as Premier of South Australia from 11 June 1887 to 26 June 1889 and 8 August 1890 to 20 June 1892, as well as serving as the Australian Federal Minister for Defence from 1905 to 1907....	1905–07
8	Thomas Ewing Thomas Ewing (Australian politician) Sir Thomas Thomson Ewing KCMG was an Australian politician.-Early life:Ewing was born at Pitt Town, New South Wales to clergyman Thomas Campbell Ewing and Elizabeth, née Thomson. Despite an intention to study for the Bar, he joined a surveyor's party at the age of 17, and became a licensed...	1907–08
9	George Pearce George Pearce Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO was an Australian politician who was instrumental in founding the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia....	1908–09	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
10	Joseph Cook Joseph Cook Sir Joseph Cook, GCMG was an Australian politician and the sixth Prime Minister of Australia. Born as Joseph Cooke and working in the coal mines of Silverdale, Staffordshire during his early life, he emigrated to Lithgow, New South Wales during the late 1880s, and became General-Secretary of the...	1909–10	Protectionist Party Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...
11	George Pearce George Pearce Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO was an Australian politician who was instrumental in founding the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia....	1910–13	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
12	Edward Millen Edward Millen Edward Davis Millen was an Australian journalist and politician who served as the first Minister for Repatriation....	1913–14	Commonwealth Liberal Party Commonwealth Liberal Party The Commonwealth Liberal Party was a political movement active in Australia from 1909 to 1916, shortly after federation....
13	George Pearce George Pearce Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO was an Australian politician who was instrumental in founding the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia....	1914–21	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... / Nationalist Party of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
14	Walter Massy-Greene	1921–23	Nationalist Party of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
15	Eric Bowden Eric Bowden Eric Kendall Bowden was an Australian solicitor and politician.-Early life:The second son of John and Sarah Bowden, he was born in Parramatta, New South Wales, where his family had resided for four generations...	1923–25
16	Neville Howse Neville Howse Major General Sir Neville Reginald Howse VC, KCB, KCMG, KStJ was a British-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces...	1925–27
17	William Glasgow Thomas William Glasgow Sir William Glasgow, KCB, CMG, DSO , was an Australian Army Major General in World War I and member of the Australian Senate, representing Queensland as a Nationalist Party member from 1919 - 1931.-Early life and career:...	1927–29
18	Albert Green	1929–31	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
19	John Daly John Daly (Australian politician) John Joseph Daly was an Australian politician.Daly was born at Hemington, now part of the Adelaide suburb of Thebarton and educated at St John the Baptist School, Thebarton, but left at 13...	1931
20	Ben Chifley Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...	1931–32
21	George Pearce George Pearce Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO was an Australian politician who was instrumental in founding the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia....	1932–34	United Australia Party United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
22	Archdale Parkhill Archdale Parkhill Sir Robert Archdale Parkhill KCMG was an Australian politician. He was born at Paddington in Sydney to Robert Parkhill, a stonemason, and Isabella, née Chisholm. He attended Paddington and Waverley Public schools and became known as an excellent sportsman, participating in cricket, fencing, boxing...	1934–37
23	Joseph Lyons Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...	1937
24	Harold Thorby Harold Thorby Harold Victor Campbell Thorby was an Australian politician and government minister.-Early life:Thorby was born in the Sydney suburb of Annandale and was educated at Geurie Public School and Sydney Grammar School and worked on his grandparents' farm at Geurie. He studied woolclassing, veterinary...	1937–38	Country Party National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
25	Geoffrey Street Geoffrey Street Geoffrey Austin Street MC was an Australian Cabinet Minister and member of the House of Representatives, representing the Division of Corangamite from 1934 until his death in 1940....	1938–39	United Australia Party United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
*	Robert Menzies Robert Menzies Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....	1939–41
*	John Curtin John Curtin John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...	1941–42	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
26	John Curtin John Curtin John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...	1942–45
27	Jack Beasley Jack Beasley John Albert "Jack" Beasley was an Australian politician.-Early life:Beasley was born in Werribee, Victoria, but moved to Sydney with his family as a child. He had a primary education in Catholic schools then became an apprentice electrician...	1945–46
28	Frank Forde Frank Forde Francis Michael Forde PC was an Australian politician and the 15th Prime Minister of Australia. He was the shortest serving Prime Minister in Australia's history, being in office for only eight days.-Early life:...	1946
29	John Dedman John Dedman John Dedman was a Minister in the Australian Labor Party governments led by John Curtin and Ben Chifley. He was responsible for organising production during World War II, establishing the Australian National University, reorganising the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ...	1946–49
30	Eric Harrison Eric Harrison Sir Eric John Harrison KCMG KCVO was an Australian politician who became the first Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia....	1949–50	Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
31	Philip McBride Philip McBride Sir Philip Albert Martin McBride KCMG was an Australian politician.McBride was born into a well-known pastoral family and educated at Burra Public School and Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. In 1931, he was elected as the member for Grey in the Australian House of Representatives, representing...	1950–58
32	Athol Townley Athol Townley Athol Gordon Townley was an Australian politician and Minister for Defence.Townley was born in Hobart and educated at Elizabeth Street State School and Hobart High School, and at Hobart Technical College. He qualified as a pharmaceutical chemist in 1928 and in 1930 found a job looking after...	1958–63
33	Paul Hasluck Paul Hasluck Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...	1963–64
34	Shane Paltridge	1964–66
35	Allen Fairhall Allen Fairhall Sir Allen Fairhall KBE was an Australian politician and Member of the Parliament of Australia for the Division of Paterson from 1949 to 1969. During that period he held a number of ministerial portfolios, most notably Supply and Defence.Fairhall was born at Morpeth and attended East Maitland...	1966–69
36	Malcolm Fraser Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...	1969–71
37	John Gorton John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...	1971
38	David Fairbairn David Fairbairn Sir David Eric Fairbairn KBE DFC was an Australian politician and cabinet minister.-Early life:Fairbairn was born in Claygate, Surrey, England...	1971–72
39	Lance Barnard Lance Barnard Lance Herbert Barnard AO , Australian politician, was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia for most of the Labor government of Gough Whitlam....	1972–75	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
40	Bill Morrison Bill Morrison (Australian politician) William Lawrence "Bill" Morrison AO , Australian former politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives and a Cabinet minister in the Whitlam government....	1975
41	Jim Killen James Killen Sir Denis James "Jim" Killen, AC, KCMG , was an Australian politician.-Education and early career:Killen was born in Dalby, Queensland and educated at Brisbane Grammar School and the University of Queensland, where he graduated in law...	1975–82	Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
42	Ian Sinclair Ian Sinclair Ian McCahon Sinclair AC , is an Australian politician and former leader of the National Party of Australia.Sinclair was born in Sydney, the son of a suburban accountant. He was educated at Knox Grammar School and at the University of Sydney, where he graduated in arts and law...	1982–83	National Party of Australia National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
43	Gordon Scholes Gordon Scholes Gordon Glen Denton Scholes AO is a former Australian politician and Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives.Scholes was born in Melbourne, the son of Thomas Glen Denton Scholes and his wife Mary Louisa O'Brien. He was the Victorian Amateur Heavyweight Boxing Champion in 1949...	1983–84	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
44	Kim Beazley Kim Beazley In the October 1998 election, Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister....	1984–90
45	Robert Ray Robert Ray (Australian politician) Robert Francis Ray , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Senate from July 1981 to May 2008, representing the state of Victoria....	1990–96
46	Ian McLachlan Ian McLachlan Ian Murray McLachlan AO is an Australian landowner, former first-class cricketer, and former member of the Australian House of Representatives.-Early life:...	1996–98	Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
47	John Moore John Moore (Australian politician) John Colinton Moore AO is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Representatives for over 25 years, and a minister from 1980 to 1982 and 1996 to 2001....	1998–2001
48	Peter Reith Peter Reith Peter Keaston Reith, , former Australian politician, was a Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and then a senior Cabinet minister in the first two terms of the Howard Government.-Early life:...	2001
49	Robert Hill Robert Hill (Australian politician) Robert Murray Hill is Chancellor of the University of Adelaide and a former Australian politician. He also currently heads the Australian Carbon Trust.-Early life and family:...	2001–06
50	Brendan Nelson Brendan Nelson Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...	2006–07
51	Joel Fitzgibbon Joel Fitzgibbon Joel Andrew Fitzgibbon is an Australian politician and Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Hunter in New South Wales. From December 2007 to June 2009 he was the Minister for Defence in the Rudd Ministry...	2007–09	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
52	John Faulkner John Faulkner John Philip Faulkner is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor member of the Australian Senate since 1989, representing the state of New South Wales. Following a period serving on various Senate Committees and as Deputy Whip, he was a Minister in the Keating Labor government 1993-96...	2009–10
53	Stephen Smith Stephen Smith (Australian politician) Stephen Francis Smith , is the Australian Minister for Defence. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993, representing the Division of Perth, Western Australia....	2010–

* Minister for Defence Coordination.

Ministers for Air

Period	Minister	Party affiliation
1939–40	James Fairbairn James Fairbairn James Valentine Fairbairn was a pastoralist, aviator, Australian politician and cabinet minister who was killed in the Canberra air disaster....	United Australia Party United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
1940	Arthur Fadden Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG was an Australian politician and, briefly, the 13th Prime Minister of Australia.-Introduction:...
1940–41	John McEwen John McEwen Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...	Country Party National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
1941–49	Arthur Drakeford Arthur Drakeford Arthur Samuel Drakeford was an Australian politician and was the minister responsible for the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II...	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
1949–49	Thomas White Thomas White (Australian politician) Sir Thomas Walter White KBE DFC was an Australian politician.-Early life and World War I:White was born at Hotham, North Melbourne, Victoria and educated at Moreland State School. In August 1914, he began training as an officer in the Australian Flying Corps at Point Cook...	Liberal Party Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
1951	Philip McBride Philip McBride Sir Philip Albert Martin McBride KCMG was an Australian politician.McBride was born into a well-known pastoral family and educated at Burra Public School and Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. In 1931, he was elected as the member for Grey in the Australian House of Representatives, representing...
1951–54	William McMahon William McMahon Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
1954–56	Athol Townley Athol Townley Athol Gordon Townley was an Australian politician and Minister for Defence.Townley was born in Hobart and educated at Elizabeth Street State School and Hobart High School, and at Hobart Technical College. He qualified as a pharmaceutical chemist in 1928 and in 1930 found a job looking after...
1956–60	Frederick Osborne Frederick Osborne Frederick Meares Osborne CMG DSC and Bar VRD was an Australian politician and government minister.Osborne was born in Orange, New South Wales, and educated at North Sydney High School and Sydney Church of England Grammar School. He graduated with a degree in law from the University of Sydney...
1960–61	Harrie Wade Harrie Wade Harrie Walter Wade OBE was an Australian federal politician and minister.Wade was born in Clear Lake, Victoria and educated at Horsham State School and Horsham High School. He worked as a schoolteacher and clerk and then as an accountant at Goroke...
1961–62	Les Bury Les Bury Leslie Harry Ernest Bury CMG was an Australian politician.Bury was born in London and was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge. During World War II, he served in the Second Australian Imperial Force from 1943 to 1945, with heavy artillery fixed defences and with the 12th Australian Radar...
1962–64	David Fairbairn David Fairbairn Sir David Eric Fairbairn KBE DFC was an Australian politician and cabinet minister.-Early life:Fairbairn was born in Claygate, Surrey, England...
1964–68	Peter Howson Peter Howson (Australian politician) Peter Howson, CMG was an Australian politician.-Biography:Howson was born in London, England in 1919 to Jessie and George Arthur Howson, and was educated at Stowe School and Trinity College, Cambridge...
1968–69	Gordon Freeth Gordon Freeth Sir Gordon Freeth KBE was an Australian politician.Freeth was born in Angaston, South Australia, the son of Robert Freeth and Gladys Mary Snashall...
1969	Dudley Erwin Dudley Erwin Dudley Erwin was an Australian politician and briefly Minister for Air.During World War II, Erwin served as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Australian Air Force as a navigator in No. 31 Squadron and was involved in the South West Pacific. Prior to enter politics, he was an electrical radio...
1969–72	Tom Drake-Brockman
1972–73	Lance Barnard Lance Barnard Lance Herbert Barnard AO , Australian politician, was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia for most of the Labor government of Gough Whitlam....	Australian Labor Party

Ministers for the Army

Period	Minister	Party affiliation
1939–40	Geoffrey Street Geoffrey Street Geoffrey Austin Street MC was an Australian Cabinet Minister and member of the House of Representatives, representing the Division of Corangamite from 1934 until his death in 1940....	United Australia Party United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
1940	Philip McBride Philip McBride Sir Philip Albert Martin McBride KCMG was an Australian politician.McBride was born into a well-known pastoral family and educated at Burra Public School and Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. In 1931, he was elected as the member for Grey in the Australian House of Representatives, representing...
1940–41	Percy Spender Percy Spender Sir Percy Claude Spender, KCVO, KBE, QC, , was an Australian politician. diplomat and jurist.Spender was born in Sydney and educated at the prestigious Fort Street High School and later the University of Sydney. He joined the Commonwealth Public Service in 1915...
1941–46	Frank Forde Frank Forde Francis Michael Forde PC was an Australian politician and the 15th Prime Minister of Australia. He was the shortest serving Prime Minister in Australia's history, being in office for only eight days.-Early life:...	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
1946–49	Cyril Chambers Cyril Chambers Cyril Chambers CBE was an Australian and Minister for the Army.Chambers was born in the Adelaide suburb of Thebarton and educated at St John the Baptist's School, Thebarton, and Hayward's Academy, Adelaide. In 1919 he became a dentist. He was mayor of Henley and Grange from 1932 to 1934. In...
1949–55	Josiah Francis Josiah Francis Sir Josiah Francis was an Australian politician and Minister for the Army.Francis was born in Ipswich, Queensland and educated at Christian Brothers' College, Ipswich and was appointed as a clerk in the Queensland Department of Justice in 1908...	Liberal Party Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
1955–56	Eric Harrison Eric Harrison Sir Eric John Harrison KCMG KCVO was an Australian politician who became the first Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia....
1956–63	John Cramer
1963–66	Jim Forbes Jim Forbes (Australian politician) Alexander James "Jim" Forbes CMG is a former Australian poilitician.Forbes was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1956 to 1975 for the Division of Barker, South Australia...
1966–68	Malcolm Fraser Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
1968–69	Phillip Lynch Phillip Lynch Sir Phillip Reginald Lynch KCMG was an Australian Liberal politician.Lynch held the House of Representatives seat of Flinders from 1966 to 1982. Between 1968 and 1972, he served variously as Minister for the Army, Minister for Immigration, and Minister for Labour and National Service, under Prime...
1969–72	Andrew Peacock Andrew Peacock Andrew Sharp Peacock AC, GCL , is a former Australian Liberal politician. He was a minister in the Gorton, McMahon and Fraser governments, and was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia 1983–1985 and 1989–1990...
1972	Bob Katter Bob Katter, Sr. Robert Cummin "Bob" Katter was an Australian federal politician and Minister for the Army. He was a Country Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for over 23 years.-Early years and background:...	Country Party National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
1972–73	Lance Barnard Lance Barnard Lance Herbert Barnard AO , Australian politician, was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia for most of the Labor government of Gough Whitlam....	Australian Labor Party

Ministers for the Navy

Period	Minister	Party affiliation
1915–16	Jens Jensen Jens Jensen Jens August Jensen was an Australian politician and Minister for the Navy.Jensen was born in Ballarat, Victoria and educated at Ballarat, leaving school at 11. He became a rabbit-hawker and miner at Beaconsfield, Tasmania. In July 1885 he married Elizabeth Frances Broadhurst; she died in 1894...	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
1916–17	Jens Jensen	National Labor Party National Labor Party The National Labor Party was the name used by the Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes for himself and his followers after he was expelled from the Australian Labor Party in November 1916 over his pro-conscription stance in relation to World War I...
1917–	Joseph Cook Joseph Cook Sir Joseph Cook, GCMG was an Australian politician and the sixth Prime Minister of Australia. Born as Joseph Cooke and working in the coal mines of Silverdale, Staffordshire during his early life, he emigrated to Lithgow, New South Wales during the late 1880s, and became General-Secretary of the...	Nationalist Party of Australia Nationalist Party of Australia The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
1920–21	William Laird Smith
1939–40	Frederick Stewart Frederick Stewart (Australian politician) Sir Frederick Harold Stewart was an Australian businessman, politician and government minister. His continuing political commitment was to the establishment of a national insurance scheme and the shortening of working hours to improve social conditions during the Great Depression, despite the...	United Australia Party United Australia Party The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
1940	Archie Cameron Archie Cameron Archie Galbraith Cameron , was an Australian politician. He was Leader of the Country Party 1939-40, and Speaker of the House of Representatives 1950-56.-Biography:...
1940–41	Billy Hughes Billy Hughes William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
1941–46	Norman Makin Norman Makin Norman John Oswald Makin AO , Australian politician, was a Cabinet minister, Speaker of the House of Representatives and diplomat.-Early life:...	Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
1946	Arthur Drakeford Arthur Drakeford Arthur Samuel Drakeford was an Australian politician and was the minister responsible for the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II...
1946–49	Bill Riordan Bill Riordan William James Frederick "Bill" Riordan CBE was an Australian politician and Minister for the Navy.Riordan was born in Chillagoe, Queensland, son of William James Riordan and nephew of Darby Riordan and Ernest Riordan William James Frederick "Bill" Riordan CBE (8 February 1908 – 15 January 1973)...
1949–51	Josiah Francis Josiah Francis Sir Josiah Francis was an Australian politician and Minister for the Army.Francis was born in Ipswich, Queensland and educated at Christian Brothers' College, Ipswich and was appointed as a clerk in the Queensland Department of Justice in 1908...	Liberal Party Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
1951	Philip McBride Philip McBride Sir Philip Albert Martin McBride KCMG was an Australian politician.McBride was born into a well-known pastoral family and educated at Burra Public School and Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. In 1931, he was elected as the member for Grey in the Australian House of Representatives, representing...
1951–54	William McMahon William McMahon Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
1954–55	Josiah Francis
1955–56	Eric Harrison Eric Harrison Sir Eric John Harrison KCMG KCVO was an Australian politician who became the first Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia....
1956	Neil O'Sullivan Neil O'Sullivan Sir Michael Neil O'Sullivan KBE was an Australian politician and lawyer.O'Sullivan was born in the Brisbane suburb of Toowong and educated at Taringa State School and St. Joseph's Nudgee College and was admitted as a solicitor in December 1922. In April 1929, he married Jessie Margaret Mary...
1956–58	Charles Davidson Charles Davidson Sir Charles William Davidson KBE was an Australian politician. He attended Townsville Grammar School in 1912 and 1913. He served in World War I and on his return was a dairy farmer and later grew sugar cane. During World War II, he served in the 42nd Battalion of the Australian Army in New...
1958–63	John Gorton John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
1963–64	Jim Forbes Jim Forbes (Australian politician) Alexander James "Jim" Forbes CMG is a former Australian poilitician.Forbes was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1956 to 1975 for the Division of Barker, South Australia...
1964–66	Fred Chaney, Sr.
1966–68	Don Chipp Don Chipp Donald Leslie Chipp, AO was an Australian politician, and the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats.-Early life:...
1968–69	Bert Kelly Bert Kelly Charles Robert "Bert" Kelly CMG , was an Australian politician and government minister. He was influential in moving Australian political parties away from support for high-tariff policies....
1969–71	James Killen James Killen Sir Denis James "Jim" Killen, AC, KCMG , was an Australian politician.-Education and early career:Killen was born in Dalby, Queensland and educated at Brisbane Grammar School and the University of Queensland, where he graduated in law...
1971–72	Malcolm Mackay
1972–73	Lance Barnard Lance Barnard Lance Herbert Barnard AO , Australian politician, was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia for most of the Labor government of Gough Whitlam....	Australian Labor Party