Richard Cleaver (16 August 1917 – 25 October 2006) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and represented the seat of

Swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 1955 to 1969.

Early life

Cleaver was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

on 16 August 1917. He was educated at

Perth Modern School Perth Modern School (colloquially known as Perth Mod) is a public co-educational academically selective high school, located in Subiaco, an inner city suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Perth Modern is Western Australia's only fully academica ...

. He was an accountant before entering politics and was a fellow of the Australian Society of Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Secretaries. During World War II, Cleaver joined the

Citizen Military Forces The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the military reserve force, reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citize ...

in September 1941 and transferred to the Australian Imperial Force in October 1942. He served with several anti-tank regiments and was later attached to the headquarters of

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

and Northern Territory Force. He was discharged with the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in May 1946, with his final post being deputy assistant quartermaster general of Western Command.

Politics

Cleaver was elected to the

at the 1955 federal election, winning the seat of

from the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP). He was re-elected on four further occasions before being defeated by ALP candidate

Adrian Bennett Adrian Frank Bennett (21 January 1933 – 9 May 2006) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1969 to 1975, holding the Western Australian seat of Division of Swan, ...

at the 1969 election. During the election campaign he was attacked while campaigning in Victoria Park and received facial injuries. Cleaver was known as a strong local campaigner, with Swan remaining a

marginal seat A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. T ...

throughout his tenure. ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'' wrote in 1969 that he was "active in the electorate's youth organisations, sportings clubs and community activities ..his latest projects are a home for the frail aged and a cultural centre for Italian migrants". In the early 1960s he founded Swan Cottage Homes, a major aged care complex in

Bentley, Western Australia Bentley is a southern suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, southeast of Perth's central business district. Its local government areas are the City of Canning and the Town of Victoria Park. Bentley is home to the main campu ...

. In parliament, Cleaver served as chair of the Joint Statutory Committee on Public Accounts from 1964 to 1969. In that capacity he played a role in the VIP aircraft affair of 1967, which proved politically damaging for the Holt government. He was one of the first Coalition MPs to express concerns over the government's use of VIP aircraft and in April 1966 suggested a parliamentary inquiry be held to pre-empt criticisms. He was rebuffed by Prime Minister

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until Disappearance of Harold Holt, his disappearance and presumed death in 1967. He held o ...

, but following further public scrutiny he and Senate leader

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician, farmer and airman who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971. He held office as the leader of the leade ...

lobbied Holt in October 1967 to make public full details of VIP flights. Cleaver unsuccessfully sought to return to parliament at the 1972 election, losing to Adrian Bennett in a rematch of the 1969 election.

Personal life

Cleaver was a prominent Methodist

lay preacher A lay preacher is a preacher who is not ordained (i.e. a layperson) and who may not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Overview Some denominations specifically disco ...

. In 1959 he spoke at one of American evangelist

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...

's "crusades" in Canberra. In 1968 he was the national president of the Australian Union of Christian Endeavour. Cleaver was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1979 for "services to the community". He was made a

Member 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 ...

(AM) in 1998 for "service to the aged in the community, in particular as the founder and chairman for more than 37 years of Swan Cottage Homes Incorporated". He was married and had four sons. Cleaver died on 25 October 2006 at

St John of God Murdoch Hospital St John of God Murdoch Hospital is a 511-bed private non-profit hospital located in the southern suburbs of Perth in Western Australia, immediately adjacent to the public Fiona Stanley Hospital campus. The distance between the entrances to the ...

in Perth

References

1917 births 2006 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Swan Members of the Australian House of Representatives People educated at Perth Modern School Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Order of Australia Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian MPs 1955–1958 Australian MPs 1958–1961 Australian MPs 1961–1963 Australian MPs 1963–1966 Australian MPs 1966–1969 {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub