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Joseph Benedict (Ben) Chifley was a politician, prime minister of Australia and locomotive engine driver. Elected member for Macquarie (New South Wales) for the Labor Party, Chifley served in the House of Representatives from 1928 to 1931 and 1940 to 1951. He was Prime Minister and Treasurer from 1945 to 1949). Chifley was Minister for Defence (1931-32) in the Scullin government and Treasurer (1941-45) and Minister for Postwar Reconstruction (1942-45) in the Curtin and Forde governments. After losing the 1949 federal election to Robert Menzies, Chifley was Leader of the Opposition from 1949 to 1951.

Source

Waterson, D.B. Chifley, Joseph Benedict (Ben) (1885-1951), Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Published in hard copy 1993, accessed online 8 July 2013.