Stanley Bruce

The Right Honourable The Viscount Bruce of Melbourne CH MC PC FRS
Bruce in 1930
8th Prime Minister of Australia
In office 9 February 1923 – 22 October 1929
Monarch	George V
Governors‑General	Lord Forster Lord Stonehaven
Deputy	Earle Page
Preceded by	Billy Hughes
Succeeded by	James Scullin
Leader of the Nationalist Party
In office 9 February 1923 – 22 October 1929
Preceded by	Billy Hughes
Succeeded by	John Latham
Treasurer of Australia
In office 21 December 1921 – 8 February 1923
Prime Minister	Billy Hughes
Preceded by	Sir Joseph Cook
Succeeded by	Earle Page
High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
In office 7 September 1932 – 5 October 1945
Preceded by	Granville Ryrie
Succeeded by	Jack Beasley
Member of the Australian Parliament for Flinders
In office 11 May 1918 – 12 October 1929
Preceded by	William Irvine
Succeeded by	Jack Holloway
In office 19 December 1931 – 6 October 1933
Preceded by	Jack Holloway
Succeeded by	James Fairbairn
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 18 March 1947 – 25 August 1967 Hereditary peerage
Personal details
Born	Stanley Melbourne Bruce (1883-04-15)15 April 1883 St Kilda, Colony of Victoria
Died	25 August 1967(1967-08-25) (aged 84) London, England
Political party	Nationalist (until 1931) United Australia (from 1931)
Spouse	Ethel Anderson ​ ​ (m. 1913; died 1967)​
Parent	John Munro Bruce (father)
Education	Melbourne Grammar School
Alma mater	Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Occupation	Commercial lawyer (Ashurst, Morris, Crisp & Co.)
Profession	Barrister businessman politician
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1914–1917
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 an Australian politician, statesman and businessman who served as the eighth prime minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929. He held office as the leader of the Nationalist Party, having previously served as the treasurer of Australia from 1921 to 1923.

Born into a briefly wealthy Melbourne family, Bruce studied at the University of Cambridge and played a leading role in his family's softgoods firm following the suicide of his father John Munro Bruce. He served on the front lines of the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I and returned to Australia wounded in 1917, becoming a spokesman 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 the House of Representatives in 1918, becoming member of parliament (MP) for the seat of Flinders. He was appointed as treasurer in 1921, before replacing Hughes as prime minister in 1923. He established an anti-socialist coalition government with the agrarian Country Party, working closely with Country leader Earle Page in an arrangement that pioneered the modern Liberal–National coalition.

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 various reforms to the Australian federal system to strengthen the role of the Commonwealth, and helped develop the forerunners of the Australian Federal Police and the CSIRO. Bruce's "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 the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration in 1929 prompted members of his own party into crossing the floor to defeat the government. In the resounding loss at the 1929 election, Bruce lost his own seat, making him the only sitting prime minister to lose his seat until John Howard's defeat at the 2007 election.

Although he returned to parliament in 1931, Bruce's service in the Lyons government was brief. Instead he pursued an international career, accepting appointment as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in 1933. Bruce became an influential figure in British government circles and at the League of Nations, emerging as a tireless advocate for international co-operation on economic and social problems, especially those facing the developing world. Particularly passionate on improving global nutrition, Bruce was one of the key figures in the establishment of the Food and Agriculture Organization, serving as the first chairman of its governing council. He was the first Australian to sit in the House of Lords, as well as the first Chancellor of the Australian National University. Although his diplomatic career went largely unnoticed in Australia, he continued throughout his life in London to vociferously advocate for Australian interests (particularly during World War II) and asked that his remains be scattered over Canberra when he died.