Curtin, John Joseph

Curtin, John Joseph (1885-1945), Australian politician and prime minister (1941-1945). Born in Creswick, Victoria, on January 8, 1885, Curtin left school at the age of 12, started his working life in a print shop, and then became a journalist. He joined the Socialist party in 1906 and later the Labor party. From 1911 to 1915 he was secretary to the powerful Timber Workers' Union. He first caught the public's attention by opposing conscription in 1916. The following year he moved to Perth to edit the West Australian Worker.

Curtin entered federal politics in 1928, winning the Fremantle seat in the House of Representatives for Labor. By 1935 he was leader of the Labor party and in October 1941 became prime minister. As premier he worked determinedly to adapt the economy to a wartime situation and to establish Australia as part of the Pacific region, more dependent for security on the United States than on Great Britain; he also came into conflict with Winston Churchill, arguing heatedly for the withdrawal of Australian troops from the Middle East. Curtin's excessive workload undermined his health and he died in office on July 5, 1945, a few months before the Allied victory.