Editing Joseph Cook (section)

{{short description|Prime Minister of Australia from 1913 to 1914}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]] <!--Do NOT insert a paragraph break; and do not link per MOS:OVERLINK-->
| name                = Sir Joseph Cook
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|GCMG}}
| image               = Joseph Cook - Crown Studios 03.jpg
| office              = 6th [[Prime Minister of Australia]]<!--No election dates.-->
| term_start          = 24 June 1913
| term_end            = 17 September 1914
| monarch             = [[George V]]
| governor_general    = [[Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman|Lord Denman]]<br />[[Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson]]
| predecessor         = [[Andrew Fisher]]
| successor           = Andrew Fisher
| office1             = [[Leader of the Opposition (Australia)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| term_start1         = 8 October 1914
| term_end1           = 17 February 1917
| primeminister1      = Andrew Fisher<br />[[Billy Hughes]]
| predecessor1        = Andrew Fisher
| successor1          = [[Frank Tudor]]
| term_start2         = 20 January 1913
| term_end2           = 24 June 1913
| primeminister2      = Andrew Fisher
| predecessor2        = [[Alfred Deakin]]
| successor2          = Andrew Fisher
| term_start3         = 26 November 1908
| term_end3           = 26 May 1909
| primeminister3      = Andrew Fisher
| predecessor3        = [[George Reid]]
| successor3          = Alfred Deakin
| office4             = [[Leader of the Opposition (Australia)|Deputy Leader of the Opposition]]
| term_start4         = 1 July 1910
| term_end4           = 20 January 1913
| leader4             = Alfred Deakin
| predecessor4        = [[Gregor McGregor]]
| successor4          = [[John Forrest]]
| term_start5         = 26 May 1909
| term_end5           = 2 June 1909
| leader5             = Alfred Deakin
| predecessor5        = 
| successor5          = Gregor McGregor{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Party leadership positions|titlestyle=background-color:#eee}}
| office6             = Leader of the [[Liberal Party (Australia, 1909)|Liberal Party]]
| term_start6         = 20 January 1913
| term_end6           = 17 February 1917
| deputy6             = [[John Forrest]]
| predecessor6        = [[Alfred Deakin]]
| successor6          = ''Party abolished''
| office7             = Leader of the [[Anti-Socialist Party]]
| deputy7             = ''Vacant''
| term_start7         = 26 November 1908
| term_end7           = 26 May 1909
| predecessor7        = [[George Reid]]
| successor7          = ''Party abolished''{{Collapsed infobox section end}} {{Collapsed infobox section begin|Cabinet posts|titlestyle=background-color:#eee}}
| office8             = [[Treasurer of Australia]]
| term_start8         = 28 July 1920
| term_end8           = 20 December 1921
| primeminister8      = [[Billy Hughes]]
| predecessor8        = [[William A. Watt]]
| successor8          = [[Stanley Bruce]]
| office9             = [[Minister for the Navy (Australia)|Minister for the Navy]]
| term_start9         = 17 February 1917
| term_end9           = 28 July 1920
| primeminister9      = Billy Hughes
| predecessor9        = [[Jens A. Jensen]]
| successor9          = [[William Laird Smith]]
| office10            = [[Minister for Home Affairs (Australia)|Minister for Home Affairs]]
| term_start10        = 24 June 1913
| term_end10          = 17 September 1914
| primeminister10     = Himself
| predecessor10       = [[King O'Malley]]
| successor10         = [[William Archibald (politician)|William Archibald]]
| office11            = [[Minister for Defence (Australia)|Minister for Defence]]
| term_start11        = 2 June 1909
| term_end11          = 29 April 1910
| primeminister11     = [[Alfred Deakin]]
| predecessor11       = [[George Pearce]]
| successor11         = George Pearce{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
| office12             = [[List of High Commissioners of Australia to the United Kingdom|High Commissioner to the United Kingdom]]
| term_start12         = 11 November 1921	
| term_end12           =10 May 1927	
| predecessor12        = Andrew Fisher
| successor12          = [[Granville Ryrie]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Constituencies|titlestyle=background-color:#eee}}
| order13             = Member of the [[Parliament of Australia]] for the [[Division of Parramatta]]
| term_start13        = 30 March 1901
| term_end13          = 11 November 1921
| predecessor13       = ''Division created''
| successor13         = [[Herbert Pratten]]
| order14             = Member of the<br />[[New South Wales Parliament]]<br />for [[Electoral district of Hartley (New South Wales)|Hartley]]
| term_start14        = 6 June 1891
| term_end14          = 30 March 1901<br />Serving with [[George Donald]] (1891–1894)
| predecessor14       = [[John Hurley (New South Wales politician, born 1844)|John Hurley]]
| successor14         = John Hurley{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1860|12|7}}
| birth_place         = [[Silverdale, Staffordshire]], England
| birth_name          = Joseph Cooke
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=yes|1947|7|30|1860|12|7}}
| death_place         = [[Bellevue Hill, New South Wales]], Australia
| resting_place       = [[Northern Suburbs Crematorium, Sydney]]
| occupation          = Coal miner, trade unionist
| party               = [[Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch)|Labor]] (until 1894)<br/>Independent (1894)<br/>[[Free Trade Party|Free Trade]] (1894–1909)<br />[[Commonwealth Liberal Party|Commonwealth Liberal]] (1909–1917)<br/>[[Nationalist Party of Australia|Nationalist]] (from 1917)
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Dame Mary Cook|Mary Turner]]|1885}}
| children            = George Sydney Cook<br />Albert Cook<br />Joseph William Cook<br />John Hartley Cook<br />Annette Margaret Cook<br />Winifred Emmie Cook<br />[[Richard Cecil Cook]]<br />Constance Mary Cook<br />Raymond Fletcher Cook
| father           = William Cook
| mother           = Margaret Cook (née Fletcher)
| caption             = Official portrait {{ca.}} 1914
}}

'''Sir Joseph Cook''' (7 December 1860 – 30 July 1947) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the sixth [[Prime Minister of Australia|prime minister of Australia]] from 1913 to 1914. He held office as the leader of the [[Fusion Liberal Party|Liberal Party]], having previously been leader of the [[Anti-Socialist Party]] from 1908 to 1909.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prime Facts 19 |work=Old Parliament House |publisher=The Australian Prime Ministers Centre |url=http://apmc.moadoph.gov.au/lib/docs/Prime-Ministers-list.pdf |access-date=10 January 2008|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905110035/http://apmc.moadoph.gov.au/lib/docs/Prime-Ministers-list.pdf |archive-date= 5 September 2012 }}</ref> His victory at the 1913 election marked the first time that a centre-right party had won a majority at an [[Elections in Australia|Australian federal election]].<ref>Gorman (2023), ''Joseph Cook'', p.12.</ref>

Cook was born in [[Silverdale, Staffordshire]], England, and began working in the local coal mines at the age of nine. He emigrated to Australia in 1885, settling in [[Lithgow, New South Wales]]. He continued to work as a miner, becoming involved with the local [[Australian labour movement|labour movement]] as a union official. [[1891 New South Wales colonial election|In 1891]], Cook was elected to the [[New South Wales Legislative Assembly]] as a representative of the [[Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch)|Labor Party]], becoming one of its first members of parliament. He was elected party leader in 1893, but the following year left Labor due to a disagreement over [[party discipline]]. He was then invited to become a government minister under [[George Reid]], and joined Reid's [[Free Trade Party]].

[[1901 Australian federal election|In 1901]], Cook was elected to the new [[Federal Parliament]] representing the [[Division of Parramatta]]. He became deputy leader of the federal Free Trade Party (later renamed the Anti-Socialist Party), again under George Reid, and in 1908 replaced Reid as party leader and [[Leader of the Opposition (Australia)|Leader of the Opposition]]. In what became known as "the fusion", Cook agreed to merge his party with [[Alfred Deakin]]'s [[Protectionist Party]] in 1909, forming a unified anti-Labor party for the first time. He became deputy leader of the new Liberal Party, allowing Deakin to become prime minister again, and was [[Minister of Defence (Australia)|Minister for Defence]] until the government's defeat at the [[1910 Australian federal election|1910 election]].

Cook replaced Deakin as leader of the Liberals in January 1913, and a few months later won a one-seat majority over [[Andrew Fisher]]'s Labor Party at the [[1913 Australian federal election|1913 election]]. His party failed to secure a majority in the [[Australian Senate]], making governing difficult, and as a result he engineered the first [[double dissolution]]. [[1914 Australian federal election|A new election]] was called for September 1914, at which the Liberals lost their majority; Fisher returned as prime minister. Cook was unable to pass much legislation during his time in office, but did oversee the early stages of [[Military history of Australia during World War I|Australia's involvement]] in World War I. He subsequently became Leader of the Opposition for a third time.

In 1917, Cook was involved in a second party merger, joining the Liberals with [[Billy Hughes]]'s [[National Labor Party]] to form the [[Nationalist Party (Australia)|Nationalist Party]]. He became the ''de facto'' [[Deputy Prime Minister of Australia|deputy prime minister]] under Hughes, serving as [[Minister for the Navy (Australia)|Minister for the Navy]] (1917–1920) and [[Treasurer of Australia|Treasurer]] (1920–1921). He was a delegate to the [[1919 Paris Peace Conference]], where he was a member of the committee that determined the borders of [[Czechoslovakia]], and along with Hughes was one of two Australians to sign the [[Treaty of Versailles]]. After leaving politics, Cook was [[High Commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom|High Commissioner to the United Kingdom]] from 1921 to 1927. He died at the age of 86 as one of the last survivors of the first federal parliament.