page_title: Alfred Deakin
section_title: Leader of the Opposition, 1910–1913
hierarchical_section_title: Alfred Deakin / Leader of the Opposition, 1910–1913
caption_attribution_description: Photograph of Alfred Deakin leaving Parliament House, Melbourne, after his final Commonwealth Liberal Party meeting as party leader.
context_page_description: Alfred Deakin was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia. He was a leader of the movement for Federation, which occurred in 1901, and was one of the principal authors of the Australian constitution. During his three terms as prime minister over the subsequent decade he played a key role in establishing national institutions.
  Deakin was born in Melbourne to middle-class parents. He was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1879, aged 23, additionally working as a barrister and journalist. He held ministerial office sporadically beginning in 1883, serving twice as Attorney-General of Victoria and aligning himself with liberal and radical reformers. In the 1890s Deakin became one of the leading figures in the movement for the federation of the Australian colonies. He was a delegate to the federal conventions and served on the committees that drafted the federal constitution. He later campaigned at a series of referendums and lobbied the British government for its adoption.
  After Federation in 1901, Deakin became the inaugural Attorney-General of Australia in the ministry led by his close friend Edmund Barton.
context_section_description: After the 1910 election, Deakin had less influence than any previous opposition leader, with the ALP holding clear majorities in both houses. His diaries indicate that he would have preferred to resign and retire from politics, but he was asked to stay on in the absence of an obvious successor. He led the campaign against the Fisher Government's proposed constitutional amendments in 1911, which would have significantly expanded the powers of the federal government. He spent two months campaigning for the "No" vote, visiting every state except Western Australia which turned out to be the only state to vote "Yes". The result was regarded as a triumph for the opposition.
  By 1912, Deakin had "lost all zest for public life and was trudging on until he could retire". He made his final speech to parliament on 18 December 1912 and publicly announced his intention to retire on 8 January 1913, after informing Joseph Cook a day earlier. His last action as leader of the Liberal Party was to oversee the election of his successor, held on 20 January. He supported Cook, who defeated John Forrest by a single vote. Deakin retired from parliament at the 1913 federal election held in May, which saw Cook and the Liberals form government with a bare one-seat majority in the House.
caption: Deakin in January 1913, leaving Parliament House on his final day as Liberal leader
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