John Armstrong (Australian politician)

The Honourable John Armstrong AC
Senator for New South Wales
In office 1 July 1938 – 30 June 1962
Minister for Munitions
In office 1 November 1946 – 6 April 1948
Prime Minister	Ben Chifley
Preceded by	John Dedman
Minister for Supply and Development
In office 6 April 1948 – 19 December 1949
Prime Minister	Ben Chifley
Preceded by	Bill Ashley
Succeeded by	Richard Casey
72nd Lord Mayor of Sydney
In office 4 December 1965 – 13 November 1967
Deputy	Henry Albert Burland Joseph Anthony Bradford
Preceded by	Harry Jensen
Succeeded by	Vernon Treatt
High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
In office 28 January 1973 – 31 January 1975
Preceded by	Alick Downer
Succeeded by	John Bunting
Personal details
Born	(1908-07-10)10 July 1908 Ultimo, New South Wales
Died	10 March 1977(1977-03-10) (aged 68) Batemans Bay, New South Wales
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Joan Curran ​ (m. 1945)​

John Ignatius Armstrong AC (10 July 1908 – 10 March 1977) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He served as a Senator for New South Wales from 1938 to 1962, representing the Labor Party, and was a minister in the Chifley government. Armstrong later served as Lord Mayor of Sydney from 1965 to 1967, and then as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1973 to 1974.

Early life

Armstrong was born into a large Roman Catholic family in the Sydney suburb of Ultimo to William and Ellen (née Hannan) Armstrong, both emigrants from Ireland. He was educated at St Bede's School, Pyrmont, and at the Marist Brothers' High School, Darlinghurst. In 1934, he was elected as an alderman of Sydney Municipal Council, representing the Labor Party until 1948.^[1][2]

Political career

Armstrong was selected for Labor's slate of candidates for the Australian Senate for the 1937 election partly because his name would appear high on the alphabetic ballot and he was duly elected, effective from July 1938. He married Joan Therese Josephine Curran in October 1945.^[3]

During 1945, Prime Minister John Curtin's health greatly deteriorated but politicians and the media declined to publicly discuss Curtin's health for fear of concerning the Australian public during World War II. As a result, Armstrong gave a speech in the Senate on 13 June which included the first public reference to Curtin's health, and left the Australian public surprised.^[4]

He was appointed Minister for Munitions in Ben Chifley's November 1946 ministry. In April 1948, his portfolio was merged with the Supply functions of Bill Ashley's portfolio to create the portfolio of Supply and Development and he was attacked by the opposition for the breadth of his powers. Following Labor's defeat at the 1949 election, he became deputy-leader of the Opposition in the Senate. He was relegated to an unwinnable fourth position on Labor's ticket for the 1961 election and left parliament in July 1962.^[2]

Later life

Armstrong was elected Lord Mayor of Sydney in 1966, but the position was abolished by the Askin government in 1967. The Whitlam government appointed him Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1973 to 1974. In 1977, he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia.^[5]

He died of a myocardial infarction in Batemans Bay, aged 68, survived by his wife, a son and four daughters.^[2]

References

1. "John Ignatius Armstrong". Sydney's Aldermen. City of Sydney. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
2. Campion, Edmund (1993). "Armstrong, John Ignatius (1908–1977)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 13. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
3. Turner, Ken. "ARMSTRONG, John Ignatius (1908–1977)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
4. Abjorensen, N. (2016) The Manner of Their Going, Australian Scholarly Publishing: Kew. ISBN 978 1 925333 21 3, p. 108.
5. "Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) entry for The Honourable John Ignatius Armstrong". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 26 January 1977. Retrieved 22 December 2022.

Political offices
Preceded by John Dedman	Minister for Munitions 1946–1948	Post abolished
Preceded by Bill Ashley	Minister for Supply and Development 1948–1949	Succeeded by Richard Casey
Government offices
Preceded by	Chairman of the Sydney County Council 1963–1965	Succeeded by
Civic offices
Preceded by Harry Jensen	Lord Mayor of Sydney 1965–1967	Succeeded by Vernon Treatt as Chief Commissioner
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Sir Alexander Downer	Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom 1973–1974	Succeeded by Sir John Bunting