- Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia
The spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia is a position that has been occupied only by women to date, thus the spouse is usually known as the Prime Minister's wife.
The Prime Minister's spouse has no official duties. In addition to assisting their partners in political campaigns, Prime Ministers’ wives are expected to participate in official duties that come with the position. These can include hosting foreign dignitaries, and, in particular, entertaining the spouses of dignitaries; accompanying their husbands on national and international trips; attending conferences and functions; launching ships; and speaking in public, particularly in their husbands' constituencies.cite web|url = http://www.oph.gov.au/mrspm/national_hostess.asp|title = National Hostess|work = Mrs Prime Minister—Public Image, Private Lives: Travelling exhibition|publisher = Old Parliament House (Commonwealth of Australia: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts)| accessdate = 2008-07-30]
As the wife of the Prime Minister, the women in these roles have attended the opening of Parliament; hosted visitors at the Lodge and Kirribilli House; visited Buckingham Palace, the White House, or the Japanese Imperial Palace; and been present at royal coronations and conferences on war and women.
Some wives, notably
Elizabeth Chifley , stayed mainly at home and took little part in their husband's public life. [cite web|url = http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/meetpm.asp?pmId=16&pageName=wife| title = Elizabeth Chifley |work = Australia's Prime Ministers|publisher = National Archives of Australia|accessdate = 2008-07-30] Others, notablyEnid Lyons , were preoccupied with rearing children (11 in her case; another child had died in infancy). Most recent Prime Ministers' wives have been involved in charities or community organisations, working to raise public awareness, funds, and support for a range of causes.Tamie Fraser was the first prime ministerial wife to secure an official secretary for dealing with her correspondence. [cite web|url = http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/meetpm.asp?pmId=22&pageName=wife | title = Tamie Fraser |work = Australia's Prime Ministers|publisher = National Archives of Australia|accessdate = 2008-07-30]Some wives have received official recognition for their services to the community. Five have been given damehoods: Dame Mary Cook, Dame Mary Hughes, Dame Enid Lyons, Dame Pattie Menzies and Dame Zara Holt.
Margaret Whitlam was made an Officer of theOrder of Australia .Only one Prime Minister's wife has gone into politics in her own right: Dame Enid Lyons, who became the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives in 1943, four years after her husband's death. She was a junior minister in the Menzies Government from 1949 to 1951. Other wives have been credited with significant behind-the-scenes political influence, but this has usually been impossible to verify.
Table
No. Name Prime Minister Term start date Term end date 1 Jane Barton (Lady Barton) [Jane Barton became Lady Barton when Edmund Barton was knighted in 1902, during his term as Prime Minister.] (Sir) Edmund Barton [Edmund Barton was knighted in 1902, during his term as Prime Minister.]1 January 1901 24 September 1903 2 Pattie Deakin Alfred Deakin 24 September 1903 5 July 1905 2 June 1909 27 April 1904 13 November 1908 29 April 1910 3 Ada Watson Chris Watson 27 April 1904 18 August 1904 4 Flora Reid George Reid 18 August 1904 5 July 1905 5 Margaret Fisher Andrew Fisher 13 November 1908
29 April 1910
17 September 1914 2 June 1909 24 June 1913 27 October 1915 6 Mary Cook [Mary Cook became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1925.]Joseph Cook 24 June 1913 17 September 1914 7 (Dame) Mary Hughes [Mary Hughes became a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1921, during Billy Hughes's term as Prime Minister. [http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1072318&search_type=advanced&showInd=true] ]Billy Hughes 27 October 1915 9 February 1923 8 Ethel Bruce [In 1947, Stanley Bruce was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Bruce of Melbourne. Ethel Bruce thus became Viscountess Bruce of Melbourne.]Stanley Bruce 9 February 1923 22 October 1929 9 Sarah Scullin James Scullin 22 October 1929 6 January 1932 10 (Dame) Enid Lyons [Enid Lyons became a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1936, during Joseph Lyons's term as Prime Minister. She was also made a Dame of the Order of Australia (AD) in 1980.]Joseph Lyons 6 January 1932 7 April 1939 11 Lady Page ( Ethel Page ) [Earle Page was the only Australian Prime Minister to have been a knight at the time of becoming Prime Minister.]Sir Earle Page 7 April 1939 26 April 1939 12 (Dame) Pattie Menzies [Pattie Menzies was made a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1954, during Robert Menzies's second term as Prime Minister. Although he was also knighted, this occurred after she had become a Dame in her own right.](Sir) Robert Menzies [ Robert Menzies was knighted in 1963, during his second term as Prime Minister.]26 April 1939
19 December 1949 28 August 1941 26 January 1966 13 Ilma Fadden Arthur Fadden 28 August 1941 7 October 1941 14 Elsie Curtin John Curtin 7 October 1941 5 July 1945 15 Vera Forde Frank Forde 6 July 1945 13 July 1945 16 Elizabeth Chifley Ben Chifley 13 July 1945 19 December 1949 17 Zara Holt [Zara Holt became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1968, after her husband's death. She later married Jeff Bate and was known as Dame Zara Bate.]Harold Holt 26 January 1966 19 December 1967 18 None [John McEwen was a widower , the only Australian Prime Minister to be single during his term of office. His wife of 45 years, Dame Ann McEwen, had died in February 1967. In July 1968, he married Mary Byrne, who became Lady McEwen when he was knighted in 1971.]John McEwen 19 December 1967 10 January 1968 19 Bettina Gorton John Gorton 10 January 1968 10 March 1971 20 Sonia McMahon William McMahon 10 March 1971 5 December 1972 21 Margaret Whitlam Gough Whitlam 5 December 1972 11 November 1975 22 Tamie Fraser Malcolm Fraser 11 November 1975 11 March 1983 23 Hazel Hawke Bob Hawke 11 March 1983 20 December 1991 24 Annita Keating Paul Keating 20 December 1991 11 March 1996 25 Janette Howard John Howard 11 March 1996 3 December 2007 26 Thérèse Rein Kevin Rudd 3 December 2007 "Incumbent" Notes
See also
* First Lady of various other countries
Further reading
*cite book|last = Langmore|first = Diane| title = Prime Ministers’ Wives: The Public and Private Lives of Ten Australian Women| publisher = McPhee Gribble|location - Ringwood, VIC| date = 1992
*cite web|url = http://www.oph.gov.au/mrspm/|title = Mrs Prime Minister—Public Image, Private Lives| work = Travelling exhibition|publisher = Old Parliament House (Commonwealth of Australia: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts)| accessdate = 2008-07-30
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