Уильям Макмахон: Австралияның бұрынғы премьер-министрі

Prime Minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972
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Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. He was a government minister for over 21 years, the longest continuous service in Australian history. McMahon was born and raised in Sydney, and worked as a commercial lawyer before entering politics. He served in the Australian Army during World War II, reaching the rank of major. After the war's end he returned to university to complete an economics degree. McMahon was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1949 federal election. Robert Menzies promoted him to the ministry in 1951 and added him to cabinet in 1956. He held several different portfolios in the Menzies government, most notably as Minister for Labour and National Service from 1958 to 1966. In that capacity, he oversaw the reintroduction of conscription in 1964. In 1966, Menzies retired and was replaced as prime minister by Harold Holt. McMahon then succeeded Holt as deputy leader of the Liberal Party. He was appointed Treasurer in the Holt government, and over the following three years oversaw a large reduction in the national deficit. After Holt's death in 1967, McMahon wished to contest the Liberal leadership but had his candidacy vetoed by John McEwen, the leader of the Country Party. The new prime minister was John Gorton. McMahon initially continued on as Treasurer in the Gorton government, but in 1969 was demoted to Minister for External Affairs after an unsuccessful challenge for the leadership. He eventually replaced Gorton in March 1971 following Gorton’s resignation, winning a vote against Billy Snedden. McMahon became prime minister at the age of 63, and remains the oldest non interim prime minister to take office. His government has been described by the Australian Dictionary of Biography as "a blend of cautious innovation and fundamental orthodoxy". It continued many of the policies of its immediate predecessors, such as the phased withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam. In its final year it faced high inflation and unemployment. Gough Whitlam's Labor Party defeated McMahon at the 1972 federal election, ending 23 consecutive years of Coalition rule. No other Australian prime minister has served for longer without winning a general election. He resigned the Liberal leadership, but remained in parliament until 1982 as a backbencher. McMahon has been described as one of Australia's worst prime ministers by Australian political scientists and historians, and after leaving office several of his former colleagues openly criticised his leadership style and personal character. Whitlam, his successor, acknowledged him as "an extraordinarily skilful, resourceful and tenacious politician", and credited him with having prevented a larger margin of defeat in 1972.

McMahon was born in Redfern, Sydney, New South Wales, on 23 February 1908. He was the third of five children born to solicitor William Daniel McMahon and Mary (née Walder), daughter of a sailmaker; an older brother predeceased him. His father, a Catholic, had a reputation as a heavy drinker and habitual gambler; his mother, an Anglican, was of English and Irish descent. McMahon's paternal grandfather, James "Butty" McMahon, was born in County Clare, Munster, Ireland, and married Mary Coyle of County Fermanagh, Ulster, Ireland. He arrived in Australia as a child, and eventually founded his own freight company, which became one of the largest in Sydney. Upon his death in 1914, his estate was valued at almost £240,000, an immense sum at the time.

McMahon spent his early life in Redfern. His mother died in 1917, when he was nine years old, and he was subsequently raised by her relatives. McMahon's father died when he was 18, leaving him a substantial inheritance. McMahon, who lived at St Paul's College, was more interested in the social scene than his degree. He spent his inheritance freely, owning several racehorses, and was known for betting significant amounts on the races. According to Alan Reid, "his reputation was that he completed his university career on less actual work than anyone in the college". Despite his diminutive physique – he stood 5 feet (2 m) as an adult – McMahon did achieve some success as an athlete. He won his university's lightweight boxing title, and in his final year at Sydney Grammar rowed in the Head of the River race. After graduating from university, he secured a position as a solicitor with Allen, Allen & Hemsley, a major Sydney law firm; he was made a junior partner in 1939. In April 1940, McMahon was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Citizens Military Force. He transferred to the Australian Imperial Force (the regular army) in October 1940, and was promoted to captain in 1942 and to major in 1943. McMahon was turned down for overseas service due to his hearing loss and a knee injury. In the early part of the war he was attached to coastal defence units in Sydney. McMahon soon developed a reputation as "a deadly earnest, dogged, enormously hardworking and dedicated member". In 1950, he successfully proposed an amendment to the Menzies government's Communist Party Dissolution Bill, reversing the effect of a clause so that the burden of proof was on the government rather than an accused person. However, the bill was subsequently struck down by the High Court. McMahon was promoted to Minister for Labour and National Service after the 1958 election, in place of Harold Holt. This brought him firmly into the inner ranks of the Liberal Party, and in terms of cabinet rank placed him among the party's most senior figures in New South Wales. McMahon oversaw the creation and administration of what became the National Service Act 1964, which re introduced compulsory conscription for 20 year old males in anticipation of further Australian involvement in South East Asia. On the labour side of his portfolio, he frequently came into conflict with the leadership of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), though there was no major industrial action during his tenure. He attempted to reduce the influence of trade unions known to be controlled by the Communist Party, particularly the Waterside Workers' Federation. In 1964, McMahon was made Vice President of the Executive Council, further confirming his status within the government. Billy Snedden was chosen as the new deputy Liberal leader. McMahon found himself dealing with a resurgent Labor Party under Gough Whitlam. Labor had come within four seats of winning government in 1969, and since then had positioned itself as a credible government in waiting. Over the next year and a half, McMahon was unable to get the better of Whitlam. McMahon was no match in parliamentary debates for Whitlam, a witty and powerful orator. He frequently found himself on the defensive as Whitlam attacked the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War and advocated radical new policies such as universal health insurance. In a typical instance, McMahon attacked Whitlam for his demands that Australia recognise the People's Republic of China, only to have to back down when U. S President Richard Nixon announced his visit to China. He was not helped by rising inflation, which hurt his reputation as a sound economic manager. Additionally, the Liberal Party was showing severe schisms, which came at an especially bad time since McMahon had, at most, two years before the next election. McMahon went into 1972 facing a statutory general election. By then, Labor had established a clear lead in the polls and McMahon's approval ratings had dwindled to 28 percent. The press had turned on him so violently that the British psephologist David Butler recalled on a visit to Australia that he could not recall a prime minister in any country being "so comprehensively panned" as McMahon. By then, it was widely perceived that McMahon simply "did not look or sound like a Prime Minister". He waited for as long as he could, but finally called a federal election for 2 December. During the campaign, McMahon was abandoned by some of his own ministers, unheard of in a Westminster system. The Coalition was swept from power on an eight seat swing. Late on election night, with the result beyond doubt, McMahon conceded defeat, ending the longest unbroken run in government in Australian history. McMahon had been a minister continuously for 21 years and 6 months, a record in the Australian Government that has never been threatened. Only Sir George Pearce and Sir John McEwen had longer overall ministerial service, but their terms were not continuous. Political journalist Laurie Oakes described McMahon as "devious, nasty, dishonest he lied all the time and stole things" before describing an incident where McMahon attempted to steal a tape recorder from his radio station by claiming ownership of the device despite it having the radio station's name engraved on it. He concludes by saying that McMahon was a "totally unworthy individual and the fact that he was Prime Minister of this country was a disgrace".

McMahon's term as prime minister ended on 5 December 1972. He did not immediately resign as Liberal leader, but it soon became clear that there was no support for him to continue. McMahon became the first Prime Minister to have lost an election and had retained his seat who did not then serve as Leader of the Opposition. On 20 December, the Liberal Party elected Billy Snedden as his successor. As a mark of respect for his past service, McMahon was included in Snedden's new shadow cabinet (as was John Gorton). However, at his own request he was not allocated a specific portfolio. In an interview with HSV7 in June 1973, McMahon stated that "disloyalty within our own party" was the main reason the Liberals had lost the election. He also said that he had three regrets from his time as prime minister – that he failed to abolish national service, that he had mishandled the 1971 budget, and that he had been a poor communicator. After the 1974 election, McMahon returned to the backbench for the first time since 1951. In the lead up to the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975, he strongly defended the power of the Senate to block supply. However, he believed that Governor General John Kerr had acted unconstitutionally in dismissing the prime minister, and said that he would have challenged the decision in the High Court if he had been in Whitlam's position. McMahon believed that those responsible for the "loans affair" – including Whitlam and several of his ministers – had acted illegally and should be prosecuted for their involvement. He assisted Danny Sankey (a private citizen) in bringing a private prosecution against Whitlam, which eventually came before the High Court as Sankey v Whitlam. Malcolm Fraser had promised Kerr that his government would bring no action against its predecessor, and was frustrated by McMahon's actions. In his memoirs, he said: "I knew McMahon was running around up to his tricks I couldn't control what he did, but I could make damn sure that the government, my government, did not get involved". Prior to the 1977 election, McMahon was unsuccessfully challenged for Liberal preselection by John Abel, whose Division of Evans had been abolished in an electoral redistribution. After being re elected, he became the joint Father of the House of Representatives with Clyde Cameron. He was the sole Father of the House after the 1980 election, winning election for a fourteenth and final time at the age of 72. In his final years in parliament he was often critical of the Fraser government. McMahon left parliament in January 1982, citing dissatisfaction with the 1981 budget as a major factor in his decision to retire before a general election. He nominated future prime minister Malcolm Turnbull as his preferred successor in Lowe, but the Liberal Party chose another candidate Philip Taylor. The by election was won by the Labor Party on a 9.4 point swing. He was the last former Prime Minister to be reelected to Parliament until Kevin Rudd in 2010.

In retirement, McMahon devoted much of his time to working on his memoirs, which he planned to title A Liberal View. They were rejected by six publishers, and reviewers (who included Barry Jones and Phillip Adams) considered them to be poorly written and overly detailed. In 1984, McMahon endorsed Bob Hawke and the Labor Party for re election over the Coalition, which he said would not be ready for government for another four or five years. Later that year, he described Andrew Peacock's hold on the Liberal leadership as "very, very fragile", and tacitly endorsed John Howard as a future leader. In his final years, McMahon underwent a series of operations related to skin cancer. He died in his sleep at St Luke's Private Hospital, Potts Point, on the morning of 31 March 1988. His remains were cremated at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium. A state memorial service was held at St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, on 8 April, with the eulogy given by David Fairbairn.

In 1965, aged 57, McMahon married Sonia Rachel Hopkins, who was then aged 32. McMahon had proposed six months after the pair first met. The wedding was held three months later at St Mark's Church, Darling Point, followed by a reception for 400 people at the Royal Sydney Golf Club. She would survive him by over twenty years, dying aged 77 on 2 April 2010. McMahon had three children; Melinda, Julian and Deborah. Julian McMahon is an actor and model while Melinda and Deborah lead largely private lives. Throughout his life there were also frequent rumours that he was homosexual. The suggestion was repeatedly denied by Lady McMahon;

McMahon was an Anglican. He did not have a strong religious upbringing – his father was a lapsed Catholic and self described "rationalist", while his mother's family were Anglican. McMahon developed an interest in theology as a teenager, and read widely on the subject over the rest of his life. He cited the works of William Temple as a major influence. McMahon was one of the few contemporary politicians to speak publicly on the connection between their religious and political beliefs. In 1953, he gave an address to the Australian Institute of Political Science in which he explained how he believed Christian doctrines necessitated parliamentary democracy and a market economy.

McMahon is often ranked among Australia's worst prime ministers. In 2001, five out of six historians surveyed by Australian Financial Review ranked him among their worst five prime ministers. Similarly, The Age surveyed eight historians in 2004 and all but one ranked McMahon as Australia's worst prime minister since World War II. Some of McMahon's most prominent critics have been those who served with him in cabinet. John Gorton called him "utterly untrustworthy", while Doug Anthony said he was "just not big enough for the job". Malcolm Fraser said he "had an insatiable ambition [ ] he wasn't immoral, he was totally amoral". Billy Snedden considered McMahon "conspiratorial, devious, untrustworthy",

McMahon was nicknamed "Billy the Leak" for his willingness to divulge intimate and confidential information to the media. Despite this, he was disliked by many journalists and political commentators. Donald Horne called him "perhaps the silliest prime minister we ever had", Malcolm Mackerras thought that he had "no achievements beyond actually getting the top job". Laurie Oakes, who spent over 50 years in the Canberra Press Gallery, viewed McMahon as "a liar and a sneak" and rated him as the worst prime minister he had worked with. Oakes recalled that he had continued leaking cabinet discussions even after becoming prime minister, and accused him of once having stolen a tape recorder. and generally acknowledged as having a mastery of economic policy. Marian Simms compared McMahon to Richard Nixon, suggesting that his character traits have been overemphasised, In his memoirs, Gough Whitlam wrote that McMahon was "an extraordinarily skilful, resourceful and tenacious politician had he been otherwise, the ALP victory in December 1972 would have been more convincing than it was".

McMahon was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1966, a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the 1972 New Year Honours, and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1977. Following the 2009 redistribution of New South Wales federal electorates, the Division of Prospect was renamed the Division of McMahon starting at the 2010 federal election.