Editing Arthur Fadden (section)

==Treasurer, 1949–1958==
===Post-war recovery===
[[File:Arthur Fadden.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Fadden c. 1950]]
Fadden transferred to the new seat of [[Division of McPherson|McPherson]] at the [[1949 Australian federal election|1949 election]], with the Coalition returning to power in a landslide victory. He was reappointed treasurer in the [[fourth Menzies ministry]] on 19 December 1949.<ref name=aph>{{cite news|url=https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Parliamentarian/F4T|title=Fadden, the Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur William, KCMG|publisher=Parliament of Australia|access-date=7 January 2025|work=Parliamentary Handbook}}</ref> He was credited with developing the Coalition's popular policy of abolishing petrol rationing, a legacy from the war.{{sfn|Arklay|2014|p=137}}

The Coalition won a massive victory in the [[1949 Australian federal election|1949 election]], and Fadden, who transferred to the newly created seat of the [[Division of McPherson]] on the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]], became Treasurer in the second Menzies government. Although [[inflation]] was high in the early 1950s, forcing him to impose several "horror budgets" (such as in 1951, increasing overall taxation by 33% in response to a wool price boom<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 'Horror Budget' of 1951 |url=https://www.robertmenziesinstitute.org.au/on-this-day/the-horror-budget-of-1951 |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=Robert Menzies Institute |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Bevan |first1=Matt |last2=Perry |first2=Yasmin |date=2023-08-12 |title=Argentina and Australia once had eerily similar economies. How did one end up with 100 per cent inflation? |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-13/how-did-argentina-end-up-with-100-per-cent-inflation-/102707204 |url-status=live |access-date=2023-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102155700/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-13/how-did-argentina-end-up-with-100-per-cent-inflation-/102707204 |archive-date=2023-11-02}}</ref>), he generally presided over a booming economy, with times especially good for farmers. {{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

===Acting prime minister===
As deputy prime minister, Fadden often deputised for Menzies during his frequent overseas trips. He served as [[Acting Prime Minister of Australia|acting prime minister]] for a record total of 676 days, both before and after his own stint as prime minister.{{sfn|Arklay|2014|p=146}} In July 1950, while Menzies was in the United States, Fadden announced that Australia would commit ground troops to the [[United Nations Command]] in Korea. The decision was made at the urging of external affairs minister [[Percy Spender]] and without prior consultation with Menzies.{{sfn|Arklay|2014|pp=146-147}} Fadden was also acting prime minister when Menzies was travelling during the [[Suez Crisis]], during which he announced Australian support for U.S. secretary of state [[John Foster Dulles]]' Suez Canal Users' Association proposal.{{sfn|Arklay|2014|p=194}}

===Final years in office===
On the night before the [[1954 Australian federal election|1954 federal election]], Fadden was seriously injured in a car accident while travelling back to Brisbane from [[Dalby, Queensland|Dalby]]. Near [[Grantham, Queensland|Grantham]], the car in which he was travelling failed to negotiate a curve on a slippery road, and rolled three times. Fadden, who had been sitting next to the driver, was pulled from the car unconscious and spent election day in hospital, unable to cast his vote. He was left with injuries to his face, head, and legs, and required five separate operations.{{sfn|Arklay|2010|p=240}}

Fadden resigned as leader of the Country Party on 26 March 1958, with John McEwen elected unopposed as his successor. At the same time, he announced that he would retire from politics at the [[1958 Australian federal election|1958 election]]. He delivered his eleventh and final budget on 5 August.{{sfn|Arklay|2010|p=254}} Although the election was held on 22 November, he did not resign from the ministry until 9 December, remaining in office as treasurer for over two weeks while not being a member of parliament.{{sfn|Arklay|2010|p=255}}