Bruce, Stanley (1883-1967), served as prime minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929. Bruce, a member of the conservative Nationalist Party, succeeded Prime Minister William M. Hughes. Bruce held office during a period of peace and prosperity in Australia’s history. Before becoming prime minister, he was a decorated war hero who had fought in the Gallipoli campaign during World War I (1914-1918).
Early life
Boyhood and education.
Stanley Melbourne Bruce was born in Melbourne, Australia, on April 15, 1883. His parents were John Munro Bruce (1840-1901), a successful importer of clothing and textiles, and Mary Ann Henderson Bruce (1848-1908). Stanley went to Cambridge University in England and graduated in 1905. In 1907, he became a barrister (lawyer qualified to argue cases in the highest courts) in England. 
Marriage and family.
On July 12, 1913, Bruce married Ethel Dunlop Anderson (1879-1967). She was the Australian-born daughter of a sheep and cattle rancher. The couple had no children.
War hero.
Soon after World War I began, Bruce enlisted in the British Army. He was commissioned in January 1915 as a lieutenant. Later that year, he was promoted to captain and fought with ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) and British forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula in what is now Turkey. The peninsula was then part of the Ottoman Empire. ANZAC and British forces fought bravely at Gallipoli. But after more than eight months of fighting, the Allies had to withdraw. Bruce was wounded twice in the fighting. He received two awards for bravery, the Military Cross of the United Kingdom and the Croix de Guerre avec Palme of France. After Bruce was wounded the second time, he faced a long recovery, and the Army sent him back to London. In 1917, Bruce and his wife returned to Australia, and Bruce received a medical discharge.
Entry into politics
Campaigning as a decorated war hero, Bruce won a seat in Australia’s Parliament in May 1918. The election was a by-election (special vote) to fill a vacant seat representing the district of Flinders in Victoria. Bruce held his seat through the next four general elections: 1919, 1922, 1925, and 1928.
Bruce was elected as a member of a new political party called the Nationalist Party. It had formed in 1917 when the Liberal Party—a generally conservative party despite its name—merged with segments of the Australian Labor Party that favored a military draft.
In 1921, Prime Minister William M. Hughes—who was then also a Nationalist—appointed Bruce to his Cabinet as treasurer of Australia. In that post, Bruce reduced taxes, cut the salaries of members of Parliament, balanced the budget, and gave the states money for roads.
Prime minister
In the election of 1922, the Nationalists won 26 seats in Parliament, compared with the Labor Party’s 29. To form a government, the Nationalists needed to form a coalition (partnership) with the Country Party. The Country Party represented the interests of farmers and other rural Australians. However, its leader, Earle Page, refused to form a government with Hughes as prime minister because he disliked Hughes’s policies on rural issues. Hughes resigned on Feb. 9, 1923, and Bruce succeeded him. Page became the unofficial deputy prime minister. The coalition, known as the Bruce-Page government, lasted until 1929.
Bruce held other portfolios (official areas of responsibility) in addition to the post of prime minister. He served as minister of external affairs from 1923 to 1929, minister of health in 1927 and 1928, and minister of trade and customs in 1928.
As prime minister, Bruce promoted Australia’s economic development under the slogan ”Men, Money, and Markets.” The slogan meant that he supported immigration to enlarge the country’s labor force (men), encouraged British investment in Australian industry (money), and sought new markets for Australian products.
During Bruce’s administration, the work of building Australia’s new national capital city, Canberra, was mostly completed. In 1927, some government agencies moved to Canberra from Melbourne, and Parliament met in Canberra for the first time. Stanley and Ethel Bruce became the first family to live in The Lodge, the prime minister’s official residence in Canberra.
In the 1929 election, the Australian Labor Party defeated the Nationalist Party. James Scullin of the Labor Party replaced Bruce as prime minister on Oct. 22, 1929. Bruce also became the first Australian prime minister to lose his own seat in Parliament. He was reelected to the seat in 1931 but resigned in 1933.
Later years
From 1933 to 1945, Bruce represented Australia in London as the country’s high commissioner (ambassador) to the United Kingdom. King George VI granted Bruce the rank of viscount in 1947, making him the first Australian prime minister to be awarded a British title of nobility. He took the title Lord Bruce of Melbourne. Bruce was chosen to serve as the first chancellor (head) of the Australian National University in 1951 and was formally installed in 1952. He served until 1961.
Bruce died in London on Aug. 25, 1967. He left generous gifts to the Australian National University and other educational institutions. As he requested, he was cremated, and his ashes were scattered over Canberra.
