Harold Holt
Harold Holt, 1908–67, was prime minister of Australia 1966-1967, for the Liberal Party. His short tenure as prime minister saw the granting of constitutional rights to Aborigines and the introduction of the Australian dollar in place of the Pound. He was also a close ally of the United States in its war in Vietnam, committing large numbers of Australian troops to the conflict.
On December 17, 1967, while swimming off Cheviot Beach, Victoria, he vanished without trace. For two days Australia remained without a government until John McEwan was chosen as caretaker, amid a constitutional crisis.
| Australian Prime Ministers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund Barton (1901) Alfred Deakin (1903, 1905, and 1909) |
Stanley Bruce (1923) James Scullin (1929) |
Francis Forde (1945) Joseph Chifley (1945) |
Malcolm Fraser (1975) Robert Hawke (1983) |
