Harold Holt

Harold Holt, 1908-? (disappeared 1967), was prime minister of Australia 1966-1967, for the Liberal Party. His short tenure as prime minister saw the granting of contitutional 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. Perhaps unfairly, however, he is chiefly remembered for the bizzare circumstances surrounding his disappearance on December 17, 1967, while swimming off Cheviot Beach, Victoria, he vanished without trace, never to be seen or heard from again. For two days Australia remained without a government until John McEwan was chosen as caretaker, amid a constitutional crisis. Conspiracy theories have alleged that Harold Holt may have been kidnapped at sea by the Chinese, the Soviets, or even a UFO. None of these theories have any foundation whatever.