Biography for DOWNER, the Hon. Alexander RussellMember for Angas (SA)
Liberal Party of Australia
Parliamentary Service
Elected to the House of Representatives for Angas, South Australia, 1949. Re-elected 1951, 1954 (unopposed), 1955, 1958, 1961 and 1963. Resigned 23.4.1964.
Ministerial Appointments
Minister for Immigration from 20.3.1958 to 18.12.1963.
Cabinet Minister from 10.12.1958 to 18.12.1963.
Committee Service
Joint Standing: Foreign Affairs from 29.2.1952 to 27.3.1958.
Joint Select: Constitutional Review from 24.5.1956 to 26.11.1959.
House of Representatives Standing: Parliamentary Library from 28.6.1951 to 23.4.1958; Privileges from 25.10.1956 to 23.4.1958.
House of Representatives Select: Report on the Hansard of the House of Representatives from 23.9.1954 to 27.10.1954.
Conferences, Delegations and Visits
Member, Delegation to the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 1953.
Visited New Zealand, January 1961.
Visited the United Kingdom and Europe, from May 1962 to July 1962, in connexion with Government Immigration Programme.
Discussed migration problems in the United States of America, May 1962.
Other Positions
Appointed Australian High Commissioner in London from 25.10.1964.
Personal
Born 7.4.1910, North Adelaide, Australia
Died 30.3.1981
Qualifications and Occupations before entering Federal Parliament
DipEc (University of Oxford).
DipPolSc (University of Oxford).
MA (University of Oxford).
Military Service
Enlisted 2nd AIF, as gunner in 2/14 Field Regiment from 30.11.1940 to 15.11.1945, when returned to Australia and discharged.
Arrived Singapore, reported missing, 15.08.1941.
Prisoner of war in Japanese hands until recovered at Singapore, 05.09.1945.