George Leake

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George Leake

Born:	3 December 1856 Perth, Western Australia
Died:	24 June 1902 Perth, Western Australia
Parliament
Nominated MLC	7 September–3 December 1886
Nominated MLC	4 January–6 March 1888
MLA for Roebourne	28 November–30 December 1890
MLA for Albany	23 June 1894–2 August 1900
Leader of the Opposition	1895–2 August 1900
MLA for West Perth	24 April 1901–24 June 1902
Government
Acting Attorney General	7 September–3 December 1886
Acting Attorney General	4 January–6 March 1888
Premier and Attorney General	27 May 1901–21 November 1901
Premier and Attorney General	23 December 1901–24 June 1902

George Leake CMG (Posthumous) QC (3 December 1856–24 June 1902) was premier of Western Australia from 27 May 1901 to 21 November 1901, and again from 23 December 1901 until 24 June 1902.

George Leake was born on 3 December 1856 in Perth in what was then the British colony of Western Australia. He was educated at the Church of England Collegiate School (now Hale School) and at St Peter's College in Adelaide. He studied law, and in 1880 was admitted to the Western Australian bar and became a partner in his father's law firm. The following year he married Louisa Emily Burt. In 1883 he was appointed Crown Solicitor and Public Prosecutor. Leake also took a keen interest in the gold mining industry, and was a member of the syndicate that successfully sent Harry Anstey to find gold in the Yilgarn in 1887.

In September 1886, Leake was appointed acting Attorney-General, and was subsequently nominated to the colony's Legislative Council. He remained in the position until December. On 28 November 1890, Leake was elected unopposed to the Legislative Assembly seat of Roebourne. He was offered a position in John Forrest's ministry, but declined, and resigned shortly afterwards on 30 December 1890 to avoid forfeiting his position as Crown Solicitor.

On 23 June 1894, Leake was elected as Legislative Assembly member for Albany, and in the following year became Leader of the Opposition. He was an enthusiastic proponent of federation and was president of the Federation League. In 1897 he was chosen as a Western Australian delegate to the Federal Convention, and attended meetings in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1898.

On 2 August 1900 Leake resigned his seat for business reasons, and travelled to Europe. After his return, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as member for West Perth on 24 April 1901. No party won clear support in that election, and the incumbent premier George Throssell resigned office before parliament met, rather than test his support. Leader of the Opposition Frederick Illingworth was then invited to form a government, but could not do so because Leake refused to serve under him and some other members refused to serve without Leake. Eventually it was agreed that Leake would become premier, and Illingworth would be treasurer and colonial secretary. Leake became Premier and Attorney-General on 27 May.

Leake's government did not have the support of the majority of parliament, but it was allowed to govern for five months until finally being defeated in November. Alf Morgans then formed a government, but in the subsequent ministerial by-election¹, supporters of Leake stood against Morgans' new cabinet, and three of the six new ministers were defeated. Morgans then resigned and Leake returned as Premier and Attorney-General on 23 December 1901, this time with much clearer support.

In June 1902, Leake caught pneumonia. He died on 24 June 1902, to date the only premier to die in office. Two days later it was announced in The Times that King Edward VII had intended to make him CMG.

[edit] Notes

1. Until 1947, newly appointed ministers were required to resign and stand for re-election.

[edit] References

• Black, David and Bolton, Geoffrey (2001). Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia, Volume One, 1870–1930, Revised Edition, Parliament of Western Australia. ISBN 0730738140. 
• Reid, Gordon Stanley and Oliver, Margaret Ruth (1982). The Premiers of Western Australia 1890–1982. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 0-85564-214-9. 
• Serle, Percival. (1949). "Leake, George". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
• The Constitution Centre of Western Australia (2002). Governors and Premiers of Western Australia. West Perth, Western Australia: The Constitution Centre of Western Australia. ISBN 0-7307-3821-3. 

Preceded by George Throssell	Premier of Western Australia 27 May 1901–21 November 1901	Succeeded by Alf Morgans
Preceded by Alf Morgans	Premier of Western Australia 23 December 1901–24 June 1902	Succeeded by Walter James

Premiers of Western Australia
Forrest | Throssell | Leake | Morgans | James | Daglish | Rason | Moore | Wilson | Scaddan | Lefroy | Colebatch | Mitchell | Collier | Willcock | Wise | McLarty | Hawke | Brand | Tonkin | C. Court | O'Connor | Burke | Dowding | Lawrence | R. Court | Gallop | Carpenter

Persondata
NAME	Leake, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	politician
DATE OF BIRTH	3 December 1856
PLACE OF BIRTH	Perth, Western Australia
DATE OF DEATH	24 June 1902
PLACE OF DEATH	Perth, Western Australia