Douglas McClelland, AC

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

 (born 5 August 1926) was elected to the Australian Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

 as a member of the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 at the 1961 election

Australian federal election, 1961

Federal elections were held in Australia on 9 December 1961. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives, and 31 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election...

, representing New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

.

McClelland was born in the Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 suburb of Wentworthville

Wentworthville, New South Wales

Wentworthville is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wentworthville is located 27 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Wentworthville is split between the local government areas of the City of...

 and he served in the second Australian Imperial Force

Second Australian Imperial Force

The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act , neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to...

 from June 1946 to January 1947 in the in Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

. He was a reporter before entering Parliament

Parliament of Australia

The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...

.

McClelland was the manager of Government Business in the Senate from 9 July 1974, Minister for the Media in the Whitlam Government until 6 June 1975, and then Special Minister of State

Special Minister of State

The Special Minister of State , currently the Special Minister of State for the Public Service and Integrity is a ministerial portfolio in the Australian Government Department of Finance and Deregulation responsible for various parliamentary, electoral, financial and oversight affairs.Other areas...

, he also served as President of the Senate

President of the Australian Senate

The President of the Australian Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. The presiding officer of the lower house is the Speaker of the House of Representatives....

 from 21 April 1983 until his resignation on 23 January 1987. From 1981 until his resignation he was the Father of the Senate. He went on to serve as Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

McClelland was awarded the Douglas Wilkie Medal

Douglas Wilkie Medal

The Douglas Wilkie Medal is an award presented to those who do the least for Australian rules football, in the best and fairest manner. An accolade presented by the Anti-Football League, it is named after Douglas Wilkie, a Sun News-Pictorial columnist who wrote for the paper during the years...

 for services to non-football in 1973 by the Anti-Football League

Anti-Football League

The Anti-Football League is an Australian organisation that pokes fun at the obsession with Australian Rules Football. It was founded by Melbourne journalist Keith Dunstan in 1967...

. The accolade was presented after McClelland introduced a points system for television programming, which was to have an unfavourable effect on football coverage.

McClelland married Lorna McNeill and they have one son—Robert McClelland

Robert McClelland (Australian politician)

Robert Bruce McClelland is the Attorney-General of Australia. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of theAustralian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Barton, New South Wales...

, member for Barton

Division of Barton

The Division of Barton is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1922 and is named for Sir Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia...

—and two daughters. He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

in June 1987.