Roy Frederick Fagan (28 December 1905 – 18 July 1990) was an Australian Labor Party politician, who was

Deputy Premier of Tasmania The deputy premier of Tasmania is a role in the Government of Tasmania assigned to a Individual ministerial responsibility, responsible Minister in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Tasmania. It has second ranking behi ...

from 1959 to 1969.

Early life

Fagan was born in

Waratah, Tasmania Waratah is a locality and town in North West Coast, Tasmania, Western Tasmania adjacent to Savage River National Park. The town was constructed to support a tin mining, mine at Mount Bischoff. It is built at the top of a waterfall, and water wa ...

in 1905, the eldest son of James Fagan and Annie Theresa Breheney. His younger siblings were two brothers, Kevin and Vin, and a sister, Sheila. His Catholic mother sent him to St Virgil's College in Hobart to be schooled, although his Catholicism lapsed once he moved out of home and he was later known to be an

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

who did not attend Mass. On leaving school, Fagan joined the staff of the

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...

where he worked until 1929, when he resigned to attend university.

Education and legal career

In 1930, Fagan commenced studies for a law degree at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

. In 1931, he was

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulate ...

to the firm Gatenby, Johnson & Walker, and in May 1934 he graduated and was admitted to the

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(LLB). During his studies, he had taken a keen interest in all aspects of university life, and was heavily involved with the

Tasmania University Union The Tasmanian University Student Association (TUSA), formerly known as Tasmania University Union (TUU), is the peak body of student representation for tertiary students attending the University of Tasmania and was established in 1899. The Studen ...

, serving as the body's president for three years. He was

admitted to the Bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in August 1934, after what the Hobart ''Mercury'' newspaper called a "brilliant university career". Fagan also completed a Bachelor of Arts and graduated in May 1935.

Political career

Fagan was asked by the Premier of Tasmania,

Robert Cosgrove Sir Robert Cosgrove (28 December 1884 – 25 August 1969) was an Australian politician who was the 30th and longest-serving Premier of Tasmania. He held office for over 18 years, serving from 1939 to 1947 and from 1948 to 1958. His invol ...

, to stand for the seat of Wilmot at the

1946 Tasmanian state election The 1946 Tasmanian state election was held on 23 November 1946 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 30 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system — six members were e ...

. Immediately following declaration of his election, Fagan was appointed Attorney-General in Cosgrove's cabinet. As attorney-general, Fagan played a key role in the abolition of capital punishment in Tasmania. He commuted 20 death sentences and introduced legislation to abolish the death penalty 12 times before it was eventually passed.

Personal life

On 8 December 1925, aged 19, Fagan married Estelle Cooney, a shop assistant, in Wynyard. Cooney was pregnant at the time of their marriage, but did not live with Fagan between the time of the daughter's birth or afterwards. Fagan, although he remained married to Estelle, from the early 1930s was in a domestic relationship with fellow university student Mavis Smith. When Estelle died in 1946, Fagan married Smith at a Catholic church in Bellerive on 28 January 1947. They had three sons. In his later years, Fagan suffered from advanced Alzheimer's disease and died at the age of 84 in Hobart in 1990. The Roy Fagan Centre is a mental health facility in Lenah Valley, Hobart dedicated to older persons with psychiatric illness and/or cognitive impairment, and is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fagan, Roy 1905 births 1990 deaths Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Deputy premiers of Tasmania Australian barristers Australian solicitors University of Tasmania alumni Academic staff of the University of Tasmania People with Alzheimer's disease Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Tasmania 20th-century Australian politicians Australian anti–death penalty activists