Deputy Prime Minister of Australia accepted the view put to him by McEwen that to commission a Liberal temporarily as Prime Minister would give that person an unfair advantage in the forthcoming party room ballot for the permanent leader. McEwen's appointment was in keeping with the previous occasion when the main non-Labor party was without a leader; Earle Page of the Country Party was interim Prime Minister between 7 and 26 April 1939—the period between Joseph Lyons' sudden death and the United Australia Party naming Robert Menzies his successor. Since 1968 only two Deputy Prime Ministers have gone on to become Prime Minister: Paul Keating
Deputy Prime Minister of Japan the exercise of de facto, if not de jure, power. The current Deputy Prime Minister is Tarō Asō, who took the post on 26 December 2012. Deputy Prime Minister of Japan The is a senior member of the Cabinet of Japan. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister. Deputy prime minister possesses no special powers as such, though they will always have particular responsibilities in government. They do not automatically succeed the Prime Minister, should the latter be incapacitated or resign from the leadership of his