Frank Brennan (politician)

The Honourable Frank Brennan
Member of the Australian Parliament for Batman
In office 8 February 1911 – 19 December 1931
Preceded by	Henry Beard
Succeeded by	Samuel Dennis
In office 15 September 1934 – 31 October 1949
Preceded by	Samuel Dennis
Succeeded by	Alan Bird
Personal details
Born	1873 Bendigo, Victoria
Died	6 November 1950 (aged 76–77) Melbourne
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Cecilia Mary O'Donnell
Relations	Tom Brennan (brother)
Alma mater	University of Melbourne
Occupation	Lawyer

Francis (Frank) Brennan (1873 – 6 November 1950) was an Australian lawyer and Australian Labor Party politician.

Brennan was born at Upper Emu Creek near Bendigo, Victoria and was a younger brother of Tom Brennan, later an assistant minister in the conservative Lyons government. He studied law at the University of Melbourne and achieved an LL.B. in 1901. He established a legal business specialising in union cases and became a Catholic layman. He joined the Labor Party in 1907 and unsuccessfully contested Bendigo in 1910,^[1] but won Batman at a by-election in 1911. In 1913 he married Cecilia Mary O'Donnell.

Following Labor's election win in 1929, Brennan became Attorney-General in the Scullin Ministry, but was not particularly effective in this role. However, he lost his seat in the 1931 election as a result of the swing against Labor as a result of the Great Depression and a split in the Labor Party. He'd gone into the election holding Batman with a comfortably safe majority of 25.8 percent, but was defeated by United Australia Party challenger Samuel Dennis on an unheard-of swing of 26.6 percent. He recovered Batman in a rematch against Dennis in the 1934 election and held it until his retirement in 1949.

Brennan was the father of prominent author Niall Brennan, a biographer of both Archbiship Daniel Mannix^[2] and businessman John Wren.^[3]

Brennan died of hypertensive vascular disease in Melbourne.^[4]

References