Jack Lang (Australian politician)

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The Honourable Jack Lang
Premier Jack T. Lang, c.1925
23rd Premier of New South Wales Elections: 1925, 1930
In office 4 November 1930 – 16 May 1932
Monarch	George V
Governor	Philip Game
Preceded by	Thomas Bavin
Succeeded by	Bertram Stevens
In office 17 June 1925 – 18 October 1927
Monarch	George V
Governor	Dudley de Chair
Preceded by	George Fuller
Succeeded by	Thomas Bavin
11th Leader of the Opposition in New South Wales
In office 22 June 1932 – 5 September 1939
Deputy	Jack Baddeley
Preceded by	Bertram Stevens
Succeeded by	William McKell
In office 18 October 1927 – 4 November 1930
Deputy	Jack Baddeley
Preceded by	Thomas Bavin
Succeeded by	Thomas Bavin
In office 31 July 1923 – 17 June 1925
Deputy	Peter Loughlin
Preceded by	Bill Dunn (acting)
Succeeded by	George Fuller
8th Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales
In office 31 July 1923 – 6 September 1939
Deputy	Peter Loughlin Jack Baddeley
Preceded by	James Dooley Bill Dunn (acting)
Succeeded by	William McKell
Cabinet posts Secretary for Lands and Minister for Forests In office 25 November 1926 – 26 May 1927 Preceded by Peter Loughlin Succeeded by Ted Horsington Minister for Agriculture Acting In office 23 March – 3 September 1926 Preceded by Bill Dunn Succeeded by Bill Dunn 37th Colonial Treasurer of New South Wales In office 15 October 1931 – 13 May 1932 Preceded by Himself Succeeded by Bertram Stevens In office 4 November 1930 – 15 October 1931 Preceded by Bertram Stevens Succeeded by Himself In office 17 June 1925 – 18 October 1927 Preceded by George Fuller Succeeded by Thomas Bavin In office 20 December 1921 – 13 April 1922 Premier James Dooley Preceded by Arthur Cocks Succeeded by Arthur Cocks In office 13 April 1920 – 10 October 1921 Premier John Storey Preceded by John Fitzpatrick Succeeded by Arthur Cocks
Electorates Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Auburn In office 8 October 1927 – 15 August 1946 Preceded by Electorate established Succeeded by Chris Lang Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Parramatta In office 20 March 1920 – 7 September 1927 Serving with Albert Bruntnell, Bill Ely and Thomas Morrow Preceded by Albert Bruntnell[a] Succeeded by Albert Bruntnell[a] Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Granville In office 6 December 1913 – 18 February 1920 Preceded by John Nobbs Succeeded by Electorate abolished
Federal politics Member of the Australian Parliament for Reid In office 28 September 1946 – 10 December 1949 Preceded by Charles Morgan Succeeded by Charles Morgan
Personal details
Born	John Thomas Lang 21 December 1876 Brickfield Hill, Sydney City, Colony of New South Wales[b]
Died	27 September 1975 (aged 98) Auburn, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	Catholic Lawn Cemetery, Rookwood
Political party	Labor (1909–1943; from 1971)
Other political affiliations	Lang Labor (1931–1950) Labor (NC) (1940–1941; 1943–1950)
Height	193 cm (6 ft 4 in)[1][2]
Spouse	Hilda Amelia Bredt ​ ​ (m. 1896; died 1964)​
Children	7, including Chris
Parents	James Henry Lang (father) Mary Whelan (mother)
Education	St Francis Marist Brothers' School, Brickfield Hill

John Thomas Lang (21 December 1876 – 27 September 1975), nicknamed "The Big Fella", was an Australian politician. He served two terms as premier of New South Wales, in office from 1925 to 1927 and from 1930 to 1932. He was the state leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1923 to 1939 and his Lang Labor faction was an influential force in both state and federal politics, breaking away from the official ALP on several occasions.

Lang was born to a working-class family in Sydney and grew up in the city's inner suburbs. He left school at the age of 14 and worked a variety of jobs, eventually establishing a real estate agency in the Sydney suburb of Auburn. Lang was first elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly at the 1913 state election and would hold several seats over the following 30 years. He remained loyal to the ALP following the 1916 party split over conscription and served as state treasurer from 1920 to 1922 in the governments of John Storey and James Dooley.

In 1923, Lang replaced Dooley as state leader of the ALP, a position he would maintain for 15 years despite a confrontational and pugnacious leadership style and competing factional demands. He led the party to a narrow victory at the 1925 state election. His first term as premier saw the passage of social and industrial reforms, but was also marked by conflict with the conservative Legislative Council and by internal party conflict. He was forced to an early election in 1927, which saw the ALP defeated. However, Lang and the ALP were returned to office in a landslide victory at the 1930 election.

During the Great Depression, Lang was a key figure in the ALP split of 1931, which saw the defeat of the federal Labor government led by James Scullin. He advocated economic populism and produced the "Lang Plan", which called for the repudiation or deferral of overseas debts to avoid the austerity measures in the Premiers' Plan. Lang's supporters in federal parliament supported a no-confidence motion in Scullin's government, with the ALP suffering a landslide defeat at the 1931 federal election. Lang's continued conflict with the new federal government led by Joseph Lyons, including defiance of federal laws, precipitated the 1932 New South Wales constitutional crisis. The crisis was resolved by state governor Philip Game using his reserved powers to remove Lang from office, the only such dismissal of an Australian state premier.

After his dismissal, Lang suffered a landslide defeat at the 1932 state election and led the ALP to further defeats at the 1935 and 1938 state elections. His faction rejoined the official ALP in 1936, but factional conflict continued and he was finally ousted as leader in 1939. Attributing his defeat to communists, in 1940 he formed the Australian Labor Party (Non-Communist), which achieved some electoral success but soon rejoined the official ALP in the interests of wartime unity. Lang was expelled from the ALP in 1943 and later served a single term in the House of Representatives from 1946 to 1949, representing the seat of Reid. He assumed the role of elder statesman in retirement and was re-admitted to the ALP in 1971 a few years before his death at the age of 99.

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