George Hannan

George Conrad Hannan (10 September 19101 May 2009) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 1956 to 1965 and 1970 to 1974. He was a member of the Liberal Party for all but the last few months of his career, and was known as a strident anti-communist. He lost Liberal preselection in 1973, and the following year announced the formation of a new social conservative political party, the National Liberal Party. He was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election at the 1974 election and dissolved the party shortly after.

Early life Hannan was born on 10 September 1910 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. He was the oldest son of Theresa Caroline (née Reis) and James Francis Hannan. His father, a country storekeeper, was a Lang Labor supporter and stood for the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Albury at the 1927 New South Wales state election.

Hannan was educated at St Patrick's College, Goulburn, before going on to study law at the University of Melbourne where he was a member of Newman College. He completed his articles of clerkship in 1933 and was admitted to the Victorian Bar the following year. He married Eileen Frances Williams in 1938, with whom he had four children.

George Hannan died on 1 May 2009, aged 98. He was the last surviving member of the 1956–1962 Senate.

Family Both he and his wife Eileen née Williams were lawyers. They had 2 sons, Peter and Michael, and 2 daughters, Judith and Eilene. Judith Hannan (1939–2014) was married to Sir Guy Boileau, 8th Bt. until his death in February 2013. Eilene Hannan (1946–2014) was a renowned international operatic soprano. Eilene Hannan died in July 2014 and her sister Lady Boileau died less than a month later in August 2014.