Hughes, Billy (William Morris) (1862–1952)

Australian politician, prime minister 1915–23; originally Labor, he headed a national cabinet. After resigning as prime minister in 1923, he helped Joseph Lyons form the United Australia Party in 1931 and held many other cabinet posts 1934–41. He joined the Liberal Party in 1944.

Born in London, the son of a Welsh carpenter, he emigrated to Australia in 1884. He became founding president of the Waterside Workers Federation and in 1894 was elected to the New South Wales assembly, representing the Labor Party. He entered the federal parliament in 1901, as a free trader, and – being a barrister – was attorney general 1908–09, 1910–13, and 1914–21. He was expelled from the Labor Party in 1917 for refusing to abandon his pro-conscription stance and his championing of imperial interests. He represented Australia in the Versailles peace conference after World War I.