Neil O'Sullivan

Sir Neil O'Sullivan
The Honourable; Sir Neil O'Sullivan; KBE
Attorney-General of Australia
	In office; 15 August 1956 – 12 October 1958
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	John Spicer
Succeeded by	Garfield Barwick
Minister for the Navy
	In office; 11 January 1956 – 24 October 1956
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Eric Harrison
Succeeded by	Charles Davidson
Minister for Trade and Customs
	In office; 19 December 1949 – 11 January 1956
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Ben Courtice
Succeeded by	John McEwen
Senator for Queensland
	In office; 1 July 1947 – 30 June 1962
Personal details
Born	2 August 1900; Toowong, Queensland, Australia
Died	4 July 1968 (aged 67); Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Jessie McEncroe (m. 1929)
Occupation	Solicitor

Sir Michael Neil O'Sullivan KBE (2 August 1900 – 4 July 1968) was an Australian politician and lawyer. He served as a Senator for Queensland from 1947 to 1962, representing the Liberal Party. He held senior ministerial positions in the post-war Menzies Government, serving as Minister for Trade and Customs (1949–56), Minister for the Navy (1956), and Attorney-General (1956–58).

Early life

O'Sullivan was born in the Brisbane suburb of Toowong, the son of Patrick Alban O'Sullivan and his wife Mary Bridget (née Macgroarty).[1] He was educated at Taringa State School and St. Joseph's Nudgee College and was admitted as a solicitor in December 1922. He was president of the Brisbane Chamber of Commerce from 1936 to 1937 and the Property Owners' Protection Association from 1937 to 1938. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force from May 1942 to December 1944, performing intelligence and administration in Australia and the South-West Pacific.[2]

Political career

O'Sullivan c. 1947

O'Sullivan came from a political family. His grandfather Patrick O'Sullivan was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, and so were his uncles Thomas O'Sullivan and Neil MacGroarty.[2]

O'Sullivan contested unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives seat of Brisbane in 1934 and the Legislative Assembly of Queensland seat of Windsor in 1941.

O'Sullivan won a seat in the Senate for the Liberal Party of Australia in the 1946 election and was one of only three non-Labor members in the Senate. Following the 1949 election, he became leader of the government in the Senate and he was appointed Minister for Trade and Customs in the Menzies government. He was appointed Minister for the Navy in January 1956. In August 1956, he was appointed Attorney-General following the resignation of John Spicer and in October 1956, he was appointed Vice-President of the Executive Council following the resignation of Eric Harrison, but he retired from the ministry in 1958. He did not stand for re-election at the 1961 election.[2] After leaving politics he became a director of LJ Hooker.[3]

Personal life

In April 1929, he married Jessie Margaret Mary McEncroe. He was made Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1959.[2]

O'Sullivan died unexpectedly of a coronary occlusion while visiting Sydney in 1968.[3] He was survived by his wife and two sons. He was accorded a state funeral and was buried in Nudgee Cemetery.[2]

Notes

"Queensland index of Births". p. 1900/C11111. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
Stevenson, Brian F. (2000). "O'Sullivan, Sir Michael Neil (1900–1968)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 23 October 2007 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
"Neil O’Sullivan”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 July 1968. Retrieved 26 November 2017.

Political offices
Preceded by Ben Courtice	Minister for Trade and Customs 1949–56	Succeeded by John McEwen
Preceded by Eric Harrison	Minister for the Navy 1956	Succeeded by Charles Davidson
Preceded by John Spicer	Attorney-General 1956–58	Succeeded by Garfield Barwick
Preceded by Eric Harrison	Vice-President of the Executive Council 1956–58	Succeeded by Bill Spooner
Party political offices
Vacant Title last held by George McLeay	Leader of the Liberal Party in the Senate 1949–58	Succeeded by Bill Spooner

gollark: `\x y z -> x + y + z`I may have been spoiled by haskell.

gollark: `function(x, y, z) return x + y + z end` is loooong.

gollark: The borrow checker not being able to handle different elements of a vector as being separate thingies, for example; a flaw.

gollark: How is *that* bad?

gollark: I told you.

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[1] "Queensland index of Births". p. 1900/C11111. Retrieved 14 August 2017.

[adb-2] Stevenson, Brian F. (2000). "O'Sullivan, Sir Michael Neil (1900–1968)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 23 October 2007 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.

[NOS-3] "Neil O’Sullivan”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 July 1968. Retrieved 26 November 2017.