Andrew Fisher

Andrew Fisher's achievements are measured in the institutions he built and the precedent he set. He led the Australian Labor Party to its first federal majority government in 1910, a historic first that demonstrated Labor could govern effectively. His government established the Commonwealth Bank, introduced old-age pensions and maternity allowances, and expanded the Royal Australian Navy. Fisher's cumulative tenure of nearly five years remains the second-longest for an ALP leader, after Bob Hawke.