Menzies Government (1939–41) in December 1944. The formation of a new party – the Liberal Party of Australia – was formally announced at Sydney Town Hall on 31 August 1945. After an initial loss to Labor at the 1946 election, Menzies led the Liberals to victory at the 1949 election against the incumbent Labor government led by Ben Chifley, and the Coalition stayed in office for a record 23 years. Menzies Government (1939–41) The Menzies Government (1939–1941) refers to the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies. Menzies led the United Australia Party in the Australian Parliament from 1939–1941.
United Kingdom declaration of war on Japan it costs nothing to be polite." Winston S. Churchill: The Second World War (vol.3): the Grand Alliance. (1950) United Kingdom declaration of war on Japan On 8 December 1941, the government of the United Kingdom declared war on the Empire of Japan, following the Japanese attacks on Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong. The British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Anthony Eden, was in transit to Moscow at the time, so Prime Minister Winston Churchill was in charge of the Foreign Office. The text of his letter to the Japanese Ambassador was as follows: Of the letter, Churchill later wrote: