Menzies Becomes Party Leader

Date: April 18, 1939 • Location: Canberra, Australia

Robert Menzies, who became Australia's longest-serving prime minister, is elected as leader of the United Australia Party after the death of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons.

Sir Robert Gordon Menzies was the 12th prime minister of Australia, serving from 1939 to 1941 and from 1949 to 1966. He held office as the leader of the United Australia Party (UAP) in his first term, and subsequently as the inaugural leader of the Liberal Party of Australia in his second. He was the member of parliament (MP) for the Victorian division of Kooyong from 1934 to 1966. With a combined term length of 18 years, 163 days, he is the longest-serving prime minister in Australian history.