Walter Cooper

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Sir Walter Jackson Cooper, MBE (23 April 1888 – 22 July 1973) was an Australian politician.

Cooper was born in Cheetham, Manchester and educated at Bedford Grammar School and Wyggeston Boys' School, Leicester. He migrated to Western Australia in 1910 and later moved to Brisbane, Queensland. In 1914, he established a property at Middleton, 200 km west of Winton. During World War I, he enlisted in the first Australian Imperial Force and served at Gallipoli and Egypt. In June 1916, he transferred to France and was wounded at the Battle of Mouquet Farm, requiring the amputation of a leg. In February 1918, he married Louie Dorothy Marion Crick. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1919 and demobilised in 1921. He later joined the Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' Imperial League of Australia (RSL).^[1]

[edit] Political career

Cooper was elected a Senator for Queensland at the 1928 election, representing the Country Party. He was defeated at the 1931 election, but returned to the Senate in 1934 election. From 1947 to 1949, he was leader of the Opposition in the Senate. Following the election of the Menzies government at the 1949 election, he led the Country Party in the Senate. In 1949, he was appointed Minister for Repatriation and held that position until he resigned from the ministry in 1960. In this position he worked closely with the RSL. He was knighted in 1959 and retired from parliament in 1968.^[1]

Cooper died at Repatriation General Hospital in the Brisbane suburb of Greenslopes, survived by his wife. They had no children.^[1]

[edit] Notes

Political offices
Preceded by Claude Barnard	Minister for Repatriation 1949 – 1960	Succeeded by Frederick Osborne

Persondata
NAME	Cooper, Walter Jackson
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH	23 April 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cheetham, Manchester, England
DATE OF DEATH	22 July 1973
PLACE OF DEATH	Greenslopes, Queensland