John McLeay, Sr.

Sir John McLeay, (19 November 1893 – 22 June 1982) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1966, representing the Division of Boothby in South Australia. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives for a record 10-year term, from 1956 to 1966. McLeay was a businessman by profession, and before entering federal politics served as Mayor of Unley (1935–1937), as a member of the South Australian House of Assembly (1938–1941), and as Lord Mayor of Adelaide (1946–1950).

Early life McLeay was born on 23 November 1893 in Port Clinton, South Australia. He was the second of six children born to Margaretta (née Barton) and George McLeay. His older brother George McLeay Jr. also entered federal politics, serving as a government minister. Their father, a farmer, died in 1914, and their mother moved the family to Adelaide. Their horse became exhausted along the way and the older children had to walk the last on foot. McLeay attended state schools in Port Clinton and Unley until the age of fourteen, leaving school to work as an errand boy. He later studied at Muirden College, a business college in Adelaide, and worked as a commercial traveller. He was re-elected to the speakership unopposed in 1959, 1962, and 1964. During his tenure there were only three dissent motions against his rulings, and he received praise from Robert Menzies, Arthur Calwell, and Gough Whitlam. Calwell said that he would have asked McLeay to stay on in the position if Labor won the 1961 election, while Whitlam described him as "ideal for the post" and wrote that "in my experience and observation the House has not had a better Speaker". He also served as president of the Adelaide Legacy Club, the South Australian Retail Furniture Association, the South Australian Playground Association and the South Australian Tree Planters Association.

Knight was created a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in the Queen's New Years Honours of 1962 for political and community services. McLeay had family members who carried on the tradition of political activism. His brother George and his son John Jnr both served in the federal parliament, John Jnr having succeeded him in the electorate of Boothby. died in Adelaide after a short illness. He had been predeceased by his wife, Eileen, Lady McLeay. A state funeral was held in his honour.