Edmund Barton information

The Right Honourable
Sir Edmund Barton
GCMG KC
The Right Honourable Sir Edmund Barton GCMG KC
	Barton in 1902
1st Prime Minister of Australia
	In office; 1 January 1901 – 24 September 1903
Monarchs	Victoria; Edward VII
Governors‑General	Lord Hopetoun; Lord Tennyson
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Alfred Deakin
Justice of the High Court of Australia
	In office; 5 October 1903 – 7 January 1920
Nominated by	Alfred Deakin
Appointed by	Lord Tennyson
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Hayden Starke
Deputy	In office; 1 January 1901 – 24 September 1903
Other political offices
Leader of the Protectionist Party
	In office; 1 January 1901 – 24 September 1903
Deputy	Alfred Deakin
Preceded by	Party created
Succeeded by	Alfred Deakin
Minister for External Affairs
	In office; 1 January 1901 – 24 September 1903
Prime Minister	Himself
Succeeded by	Alfred Deakin
Leader of the Opposition in New South Wales
	In office; 5 October 1898 – 23 August 1899
Premier	George Reid
Preceded by	William Lyne
Succeeded by	William Lyne
Attorney General of New South Wales
	In office; 23 October 1891 – 14 December 1893
Premier	George Dibbs
Preceded by	George Bowen Simpson
Succeeded by	Charles Heydon
	In office; 17 January 1889 – 7 March 1889
Premier	George Dibbs
Preceded by	George Bowen Simpson
Succeeded by	George Bowen Simpson
Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
	In office; 3 January 1883 – 31 January 1887
Preceded by	Sir George Wigram Allen
Succeeded by	James Henry Young
Preceded by	In office; 30 March 1901 – 30 September 1903
Constituencies
Member of the Parliament of Australia for the Division of Hunter
	In office; 30 March 1901 – 30 September 1903
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Frank Liddell
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
	In office; 23 November 1898 – 1 March 1900
Preceded by	Francis Clarke
Succeeded by	Francis Clarke
Constituency	Hastings and Macleay
	In office; 11 July 1891 – 3 August 1894
Preceded by	Walter Bradley
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Constituency	East Sydney
	In office; 28 December 1882 – 2 March 1887
Preceded by	Arthur Renwick
Succeeded by	William McMillan
Constituency	East Sydney
	In office; 14 December 1880 – 28 December 1882
Preceded by	John Shepherd
Succeeded by	David Ferguson
Constituency	Wellington
	In office; 26 August 1879 – 14 December 1880
Preceded by	William Windeyer
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Constituency	University of Sydney
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
	In office; 12 May 1897 – 18 July 1898
	In office; 8 March 1887 – 12 June 1891
Personal details
Born	18 January 1849; Glebe, Colony of New South Wales, British Empire; (now New South Wales, Australia)
Died	7 January 1920 (aged 70); Hydro Majestic Hotel,; Medlow Bath, New South Wales, Australia
Resting place	Waverley Cemetery
Political party	Protectionist (after 1887)
Spouse	Jane Ross (m. 1877)
Children	6
Education	Fort Street High School; Sydney Grammar School;
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Profession	Barrister; Politician
Signature

Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton GCMG KC (18 January 1849 – 7 January 1920) was an Australian statesman, barrister and jurist who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903. He held office as the leader of the Protectionist Party, before resigning in 1903 to become a founding member of the High Court of Australia, on which he served until his death. He was highly regarded as one of the leaders and founding fathers of the Federation movement and for his work in drafting and later interpreting the Constitution of Australia and early federal laws.

Barton was an early supporter of the federation of the Australian colonies, the goal of which he summarised as "a nation for a continent, and a continent for a nation". After the retirement of Henry Parkes he came to be seen as the leader of the federation movement in New South Wales. He was a delegate to the constitutional conventions, playing a key role in the drafting of a national constitution, and was one of the lead campaigners for federation in the subsequent referendums. In late 1900, despite the initial "Hopetoun Blunder", Barton was commissioned to form a caretaker government as Australia's first prime minister. His term began on 1 January 1901, the date on which federation occurred.

At the first federal election in March 1901, Barton and the Protectionists won the most seats, but were well short of a majority. He was able to remain as prime minister by forming an alliance with the fledgling Australian Labor Party (ALP), which held the balance of power. The Barton government established a number of new national institutions, including the Australian Defence Force and the Commonwealth Public Service. It introduced nation-wide women's suffrage, and laid the foundations of the White Australia policy with the Immigration Restriction Act 1901.

Barton left politics in 1903 to become one of the three founding members of the High Court, which his government had created. He was succeeded as prime minister by Alfred Deakin. On the court, Barton was able to shape the judicial interpretation of the constitution he had helped write.

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