Who was Robert Menzies?
Sir Robert Menzies was Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister, holding office for more than 18 years in total, from 1939 to 1941 and from 1949 to 1966. He founded the Liberal Party of Australia in 1944.
Menzies was born in Jeparit, Victoria, in 1894. He became a successful barrister and entered politics in the 1920s, serving in the Victorian parliament before moving to federal politics.
He first became Prime Minister in 1939, at the start of World War II, but lost the support of his party and resigned in 1941.
The Menzies era
After forming the Liberal Party, Menzies returned to power in 1949 and won seven consecutive elections. His government oversaw strong economic growth, large-scale immigration and the expansion of universities.
Menzies was a strong supporter of ties with Britain and the United States. His government signed the ANZUS Treaty in 1951 and committed Australian troops to the Korean War and, later, the Vietnam War.
He retired in 1966 and died in 1978. The Menzies era is remembered as a time of stability and prosperity, though critics say his government was slow to embrace social change. The Robert Menzies Institute at the University of Melbourne studies his legacy.