William Morris “Billy” Hughes (September 25th 1862 - October 28th 1952) is an Australian politician. He was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia, the Australian Député having had more the parliamentary long career and one of the most outstanding figures of the Australian political history. During the 51 years of its parliamentary career, it changed five times of party (Labor, National Labor, Nationalist, Australian, United Australia and Liberal), was excluded from three of them and was the representative of four Circonscription S in two different states.

William Morris Hughes was born with Pimlico, a district of London on September 25th, 1862 of Welsh parents of which he was the only son. His/her father spoke Gaëlique and worked like Menuisier with the House of Lords. His/her mother was girl of farmers and did housework in London. She died whereas he was seven years old and he was dealt with by his aunt with Llandudno, in the Wales where he lived in the family of his mother and learned the gaëlique one. When it was 14 years old, it went back to London and worked in a professor. At 19 years, it turned over food with his father and oldest of his aunts Mary Hughes to the " 78 Vauxhall Road" Bridge; in London.

In October 1884, he emigrated in Australia where he worked as plowman, logger and cook. It arrived at Sydney in 1886 and lived in a house in limit of Moore Park. He married the girl of his owner Elizabeth Cutts. In 1890 it settled with Balmain with his wife and it opened a small shop there where it sold a little all. It joined the " Socialist League" in 1892, became a speaker of street for the party of the " Individual Tax League" , one of the creators of l" Australian Workers' Union" and perhaps it had already adhered to the new whole " Labor Party".

In 1894, Hughes spent eight month in the center of the News-Wales-of-South to structure l'" Amalgamated Shearers' Union" then the seat of deputy of Sydney-Lang with 105 votes gained in advance. At the Parliament, he became general secretary of the " Wharf Laborer's Union". In 1900 it founded and became the president of the " Waterside Workers' Union". It is at that time that Hughes studied the right and obtained its diploma for the occupation of lawyer in 1903. With the difference of the majority of the members of the " Labor party" , he was a burning defender of the creation of an Australian federation.

In 1901 Hughes was elected appointed of Sydney-West at the first Australian federal Parliament as a member of the workers party (" Labor Party"). He was opposed to the proposals of the Barton government to create a small professional army and asked for the creation of an equal military service for all. In 1903, it was allowed with the bar. In 1906, it lost his wife and it is oldest of his/her daughters, 17 years old, which dealt with his/her five brothers and sisters. In 1911, he married Mary Campbell.

He was Foreign Minister in the first worker government. He was then Minister for justice in the three governments of Andrew Fisher in 1908-09, 1910-13 and 1914-15. He was the thinking head of these governments and it is sure that it wanted to become the chief of the " Labor Party" but its difficult character (its chronic digestive problems seem to have had a big role in its character) was, with the eyes of his/her colleagues, a crippling problem to be named at this station. Its dispute with King O' Malley, one of his/her ministerial colleagues, remained an striking example of its excessive behavior.

After the federal elections of 1914, Labor the Prime Minister Andrew Fisher at that time encountered a dispute of his leadership of tension created by the First World War and had to face the increasingly increasing pressure of ambitious Hughes which wished to create an obligatory military service for all what Fisher did not want. In 1915, its health was degraded and in October, he resigned and was replaced by Hughes. This last was a burning defender of the participoation of Australia to the First World War and after a visit in Great Britain in 1916, it was completely convinced that the military service had become essential to support the effort of war of the country. The great majority of its party which included/understood catholic and unionistic representatives was firmly opposed to this idea especially at the Australian ones of Irish origin (catholics for the majority) which considered this war as an excessive response of Great Britain to the rise of the Eastern European countries.

In October, Hughes organized a plebiscite to make approve its idea of military service but the plebiscite was disapproved little by the voters. The catholic archbishop of Melbourne, Daniel Mannix, was the principal opponent with this idea. In spite of this disavowal, Hughes continued to be a burning defender of the military service. This business created deep and bitter cut not only in the Australian population but also in the members of its own party.

September 15th, 1916, the executive committee of the " Party" ploughing; excludes Hughes from its rows. November 14th, 1916, 43 deputies of the party after long discussions voted and excluded Hughes and 24 other deputies from the group.

Hughes and ess colleagues excluded from the Ploughing party formed the " National Labor Party" and negotiated with the leader of the liberal party, Joseph Cook, the formation of a new party, the " Nationalist Party". With the elections of 1917, Hughes and its friends gained a broad electoral victory. For this election, Hughes had changed electoral constituency and had been presented to Bendigo with the Victoria. Hughes had promised to resign if its government could not make adopt the creation of the military service. A second attempt at vote chief clerk took place in December 1917 and showed a broader defeat quà the first time. Hughes, after having received the support of the other members of its party resigned of its post of Prime Minister but the General governor, Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson, not having an other possibility of choice, immediately renewed it in its functions, enabling him to remain Prime Minister apès to have kept to his commitment to resign.

The Hughes government replaced the majority uninominal voting system to a turn which applied for the two rooms of the federal Parliament according to the " The Electoral Commonwealth Act 1903" by the typically Australian preferential voting system () for the House of Commons in 1918. This voting system was practically always applied since. A multi-preferential system was introduced for the senatorial elections in 1919. It was applied jusq' in 1948 to be replaced by a system proportional with preferential quota. This reform of the way of voting was always regarded as a response of Hughes to the rise to power of the " Country Party" , so that the votes for the parties other than the workers parties are not regarded as negligible as it was the case before.

In 1919, Hughes and the preceding Prime Minister Joseph Cook went to London to attend with the conference on peace Versailles. They remained absent for 16 month and signed the Traité of Versailles in the name of Australia, which made of it the first international treaty signed by Australia. In Versailles, Hughes required heavy compensations for the Germany and often ran up against Prédident of the United States, Woodrow Wilson which described Hughes like a " Good-for-nothing emmer… ". It succeeds in obtaining control by Australia of the old German colony of New Guinea and, thanks to the assistance of other Prime Ministers for the English Dominions like Borden and Smuts, Australia obtained a place independent in the any news Société of the Nations. In spite of the rejection of its project of military service, Hughes preserved all its popularity and he was comfortably re-elected in December 1919. During negotiations which were followed from there, Hughes, defender of the very widespread ideas at the time of " raciales" categories; , was the principal opponent with the proposal of Japan to make appear in the treaty the equality of the races and with the assistance of some of his friends it obtained that this proposal does not appear in the final treaty. Japan was deeply marked by this behavior.

After 1920, the political reputation of Hughes started to decline. A new party, the " Country Party" appeared. It gathered the farmers dissatisfied with the agricultural policy of the " Nationalists" , of the decision of Hughes to have in particular agreed to increase the tariff barriers to protect Australian industry whereas it blocked the prices of the agricultural produce. At the same time much of conservatives reproached him for following a Labor policy disguised by refusing for example privatiser the " the Commonwealth Shipping Line " and l'" Australian Wireless Company ". With the federal elections of 1922, Hughes again changed district to pass from the agricultural district of Bendigo to that urban of Sydney-North but the " Country Party" enough seats at the Parliament gained to be able to ask for the resignation of Huhghes in exchange of their participation in the government.

Hughes resigned in February 1923 and was replaced by its Minister for Finance, Stanley Bruce. Hughes was furious treason of its party and ruminated its revenge on the back-benches on the Parliament jusq' in 1929 when it could form an enough powerful group of rebels to cross the step and to reverse the Bruce government. Hughes was excluded from the " Nationalist Party" and its own party formed: l'" Australian Party". In 1931 it buried the hatchet with his former colleagues and joined new the " United Australia Party" (UAP), under the crook of Joseph Lyons.

It is in duration of function the third of Australian the Prime Ministers after Robert Menzies and Malcolm Fraser.

In 1934, he became Ministre for health in the Lyons government. He was also at several times Ministre for the Navy, Ministrede industry and Ministre for Justice in the governments of Lyon and his successor, Robert Menzies, between 1934 and 1941. However there remained a character protestor. After 1936, it was adverse posted with the British policy of conciliation with Germany at one time when its partisans were delighted some. In 1937, it had to resign of the government after having published a book tackling the policy of the Great Britain with respect to German rearmament and from the occupation Japan is born in China. After the loss of the federal elections by the UAP in 1940, Menzies had to resign under the pressure of his/her colleagues and in October 1941, the workers party returned to the capacity with John Curtin like Prime Minister. Menzies resigned of the presidency of the UAP and Hughes, 79 years old and in bad health, was elected with the head of the party.

Hughes leader of the UAP to the elections of 1943 refused to hold any political meeting and agreed to leave with Arthur Fadden (chief of the " Country Party") direction of all the opposition. Hughes was beaten and resigned to leave its place to Menzies. In February 1944, the UAP withdrew its members of the " Advisory War Council" to protest against the worker government of John Curtin. Hughes, however, rassista with the meetings and for this reason was excluded from the UAP.

In 1944 Menzies founded a new party: the liberal party and Hughes became member about it. He again changed district to present himself to Bradfield in 1949. There remained member of the Parliament until his in October 1952 death. He had been appointed during 51 years and seven months and if one adds his last years to it to the colonial Parliament of Wales News of the South, he was appointed during 58 years. He was the last deputy of the first Australian Parliament to being still appointed at the time of his death (He was not however the last deputy of the first Parliament to die, it was King O' Malley which survived to him fourteen months). It is the deputy to have longest sat at the Parliament. He was also the last Prime Minister born in the United Kingdom.

Hughes died at his place in Lindfield in the suburbs of Sydney. The six children of his first wife and his second wife survived to him. It had lost only his daughter born of its second marriage in 1937. Its national funeral was one of greatest demonstrations the than Sydney knew with: 450000 people gathered on the course.

Hughes, a small nervous man with the desiccated face and the raucous voice was an extravagant politician who during the First World War could create a reputation of war leader - his partisans called it the “small minor” (the Little Digger ) - nickname which remained to him all its life. It left of him the image of a man to political and diplomatic competences exceptional, with the remarks full with spirit, optimism and patriotism inébranlables. This admiration was not shared by the members of the " Labor Party" who still regard it as the " rat".

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Simple: Billy Hughes