About Ian Sinclair
Ian McCahon Sinclair (born 10 June 1929) is an Australian former politician who served as a Member of Parliament for 35 years, and was leader of the National Party from 1984 to 1989. He served as either a minister or opposition frontbencher for all but a few months from 1965 to 1989, and later Speaker of the House of Representatives from March to August 1998. Sinclair was born in Sydney and studied law at the University of Sydney. He later bought a farming property near Tamworth. Sinclair was elected to parliament in 1963, and added to the ministry in 1965 as part of the Menzies Government. Over the following six years, he held various portfolios under Harold Holt, John McEwen, John Gorton and William McMahon. Sinclair was elected deputy leader of his party in 1971. He was a senior member of the Fraser government, spending periods as Minister for Primary Industry (1975–1979), Minister for Communications (1980–1982), and Minister for Defence (1982–1983). In 1984, Sinclair replaced Anthony as leader of the Nationals. He led the party to two federal elections, in 1984 and 1987, but was replaced by Charles Blunt in 1989. Sinclair was father of the parliament from 1990 until his retirement at the 1998 election. He spent his final six months in parliament as Speaker of the House of Representatives, following the sudden resignation of Bob Halverson; he is the only member of his party to have held the position. He also served as co-chair of the 1998 constitutional convention, alongside Barry Jones. Sinclair is the earliest elected MP living (along with Senator Doug McClelland), the only surviving Country/Nationals MP elected in the 1960s. Additionally, he is the last surviving minister who served in the Menzies, Holt, McEwen, Gorton, and McMahon governments, as well as the First Fraser Ministry. He is entitled to the Right Honourable prefix as one of the few surviving Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. Due to an ensuing rash of three-cornered contests, Labor won an increased majority. He instead took up a grazing property near Bendemeer and set up the Sinclair Pastoral Company, of which he became managing director.
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