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H. V. Evatt
Australian politician (1894–1965) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Herbert Vere Evatt, QC, PC, KStJ (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a justice of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs from 1941 to 1949, and leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition from 1951 to 1960. Evatt is considered one of Australia's most prominent public intellectuals of the twentieth century.[1]
Dr Herbert Evatt | |
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![]() Evatt in 1948 | |
Justice of the High Court of Australia | |
In office 19 December 1930 – 2 September 1940 | |
Nominated by | James Scullin |
Preceded by | Sir Charles Powers |
Succeeded by | Sir Dudley Williams |
Chief Justice of New South Wales | |
In office 15 February 1960 – 24 October 1962 | |
Preceded by | Sir Kenneth Street |
Succeeded by | Sir Leslie Herron |
Leader of the Opposition | |
In office 20 June 1951 – 9 February 1960 | |
Prime Minister | Robert Menzies |
Deputy | Arthur Calwell |
Preceded by | Ben Chifley |
Succeeded by | Arthur Calwell |
Leader of the Labor Party | |
In office 20 June 1951 – 9 February 1960 | |
Deputy | Arthur Calwell |
Preceded by | Ben Chifley |
Succeeded by | Arthur Calwell |
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party | |
In office 31 October 1946 – 20 June 1951 | |
Leader | Ben Chifley |
Preceded by | Frank Forde |
Succeeded by | Arthur Calwell |
Attorney-General for Australia | |
In office 7 October 1941 – 19 December 1949 | |
Prime Minister | John Curtin Frank Forde Ben Chifley |
Preceded by | Billy Hughes |
Succeeded by | John Spicer |
Minister for External Affairs | |
In office 7 October 1941 – 19 December 1949 | |
Prime Minister | John Curtin Frank Forde Ben Chifley |
Preceded by | Sir Frederick Stewart |
Succeeded by | Percy Spender |
President of the United Nations General Assembly | |
In office 1948–1949 | |
Preceded by | José Arce |
Succeeded by | Carlos P. Romulo |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Barton | |
In office 21 September 1940 – 22 November 1958 | |
Preceded by | Albert Lane |
Succeeded by | Len Reynolds |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Hunter | |
In office 22 November 1958 – 10 February 1960 | |
Preceded by | Rowley James |
Succeeded by | Bert James |
Personal details | |
Born | Herbert Vere Evatt (1894-04-30)30 April 1894 East Maitland, Colony of New South Wales, British Empire |
Died | 2 November 1965(1965-11-02) (aged 71) Forrest, Australian Capital Territory, Australia |
Political party | Labor |
Spouse |
Mary Sheffer (m. 1920) |
Relations | Clive Evatt (brother) Elizabeth Evatt (niece) Penelope Seidler (niece) Sir George Evatt (uncle) |
Children | 2 |
Education | Fort Street Model School |
Alma mater | University of Sydney |
Occupation | Lawyer Academic Politician Judge |
Evatt was born in East Maitland, New South Wales, and grew up on Sydney's North Shore. He studied law at the University of Sydney, attaining the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) in 1924. After a period in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (1925–1930), Evatt was appointed to the High Court in 1930 by the Scullin government. He was 36 years old, and remains the youngest appointee in the court's history. He was considered an innovative judge, but left the court to seek election to federal parliament at the 1940 federal election.
In 1941, the ALP returned to government under Prime Minister John Curtin. Evatt was appointed Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs, positions he held under Curtin and Ben Chifley until the government's defeat at the 1949 federal election. He served as President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1948 to 1949, and helped to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After Chifley's death in 1951, Evatt was elected as his successor as ALP leader. Internal tensions over the party's attitude to communism during the Cold War culminated in a party split in 1955. The ALP was defeated at three consecutive federal elections under Evatt's leadership, in 1954, 1955 and 1958. He faced three leadership spills before being convinced to retire from politics in 1960 and accept the post of Chief Justice of New South Wales.