Andrew Fisher (29 August 1862 – 22 October 1928) was Prime Minister of Australia from 13 November 1908 to 2 June 1909 (interrupting Alfred Deakin's two terms), from 29 April 1910 to 24 June 1913 (succeeding Deakin and preceding Joseph Cook) and from 17 September 1914 to 27 October 1915 (succeeding Cook and preceding Billy Hughes).
Biography[]
Andrew Fisher was born in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1862, and he was elected district secretary of the Ayshire Miner's Union, which collapsed after an unsuccessful ten-week strike in 1881. He emigrated to Queensland, Australia in 1885, and within months became manager of a new colliery. In 1891, he founded a local branch of the new Australian Labor Party at Gympie, and became its first president. He was elected as Gympie's representative in the Queensland Legislative Assembly,, and he was one of the few within his party to support a federated Australia. He was elected to the first federal parliament in 1901, and he became a leading member of the federal Labor caucus with continuing strong links with the grassroots, succeeding Chris Watson as party leader in 1907. He withdrew his support from Deakinb to form his own government, in which he strove towarfds more power for the Australian federal state, at the expense of both the British Empire and the individual states. In 1910, he was the first Labor prime minister to be voted into office. He established a central bank, invalidity pensions were extended, and maternity allowances were provided, though he was less successful in wresting power from the individual states. After narrowly losing the 1913 elections, his support for World War I won him a resounding victory in 1914. He resigned in 1915 due to ill health and his personal opposition to the impending issue of compulsory military service. He became Australian high commissioner in London until 1920, and finally retired to London in 1922.