Stanley Bruce
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The Right Honourable The Viscount Bruce of Melbourne CH, MC, PC, FRS |
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8th Prime Minister of Australia Elections: 1925, 1928, 1929 |
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In office 9 February 1923 – 22 October 1929 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Governor-General |
Lord Forster Lord Stonehaven |
| Deputy | Earle Page |
| Preceded by | Billy Hughes |
| Succeeded by | James Scullin |
| Leader of the Nationalist Party | |
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In office 9 February 1923 – 22 October 1929 |
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| Preceded by | Billy Hughes |
| Succeeded by | John Latham |
| Treasurer of Australia | |
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In office 21 December 1921 – 8 February 1923 |
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| Prime Minister | Billy Hughes |
| Preceded by | Sir Joseph Cook |
| Succeeded by | Earle Page |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Flinders | |
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In office 11 May 1918 – 12 October 1929 |
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| Preceded by | William Irvine |
| Succeeded by | Jack Holloway |
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In office 19 December 1931 – 11 November 1933 |
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| Preceded by | Jack Holloway |
| Succeeded by | James Fairbairn |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Stanley Melbourne Bruce 15 April 1883 Melbourne, Australia |
| Died | 25 August 1967 (aged 84) London, England |
| Political party |
Nationalist (1918–29) United Australia (1931–33) |
| Spouse(s) | Ethel Bruce |
| Education |
Melbourne Church of England Grammar School Trinity Hall, Cambridge |
| Profession | Businessman and lawyer |
| Religion | Anglicanism |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1914–17 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards |
Military Cross Croix de guerre (France) |
Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, PC, FRS (15 April 1883 – 25 August 1967) was the eighth Prime Minister of Australia (1923–29). Bruce made wide-ranging reforms and mounted a comprehensive nation-building program in government, but his controversial handling of industrial relations led to his dramatic defeat at the polls in 1929. He later pursued a long and influential diplomatic career as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, at the League of Nations and as Chairman of the Food and Agriculture Organization Council.
Born into a wealthy Melbourne family, Bruce studied at the University of Cambridge and spent his early life tending to the importing and exporting business of his late father. He served on the front lines of the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I and returned to Australia wounded in 1917, becoming a spokesperson for government recruitment efforts. He gained the attention of the Nationalist Party and Prime Minister Billy Hughes, who encouraged a political career. He was elected to parliament in 1918, becoming treasurer in 1921 and then prime minister in 1923.
In office Bruce pursued an energetic and diverse agenda. He comprehensively overhauled federal government administration and oversaw its transfer to the new capital city of Canberra. He implemented many reforms to the Australian federal system that strengthened the role of the Commonwealth. He established the Commonwealth Peace Officers and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the forerunners of the Australian Federal Police and the CSIRO. His "men, money and markets" scheme was an ambitious attempt to rapidly expand Australia's population and economic potential through massive government investment and closer ties with Great Britain and the rest of the British Empire. However, his endeavours to overhaul Australia's industrial relations system brought his government into frequent conflict with the labour movement, and his radical proposal to abolish Commonwealth arbitration in 1929 prompted members of his own party to cross the floor to defeat the government. In the resounding loss at the subsequent election the Prime Minister lost his seat, an event unprecedented in Australia and one that would not occur again until 2007.
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