John Ignatius Armstrong AC (10 July 1908 – 10 March 1977) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

from 1938 to 1962, representing the Labor Party, and was a minister in the

Chifley government The Chifley government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1945 to 1949. Background A week after Labor ...

. Armstrong later served as

Lord Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has b ...

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 Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

. In 1934, he was elected as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of Sydney Municipal Council, representing the Labor Party until 1948.

Political career

Armstrong was selected for Labor's slate of candidates for the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

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. During 1945,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), having been most ...

'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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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. He was appointed Minister for Munitions in

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician and train driver who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), and was n ...

's November 1946 ministry. In April 1948, his portfolio was merged with the

Supply Supply or supplies may refer to: *The amount of a resource that is available **Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers **Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission *Supply, as ...

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.

Later life

Armstrong was elected

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 The high commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the High Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia to United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northe ...

from 1973 to 1974. In 1977, he was made a Companion of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

. He died of a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Batemans Bay Batemans Bay is a town in the South Coast region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Batemans Bay is administered by the Eurobodalla Shire council. The town is situated on the shores of an estuary formed where the Clyde River meets the ...

, aged 68, survived by his wife, a son and four daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, John Ignatius 1908 births 1977 deaths Australian people of Irish descent Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Companions of the Order of Australia High commissioners of Australia to the United Kingdom Permanent representatives of Australia to the International Maritime Organization Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Members of the Cabinet of Australia Mayors and lord mayors of Sydney Lang Labor members of the Parliament of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Councillors of Sydney County Council