Earle Christmas Grafton Page was Prime Minister for only 20 days, from 7 April 1939 to 26 April 1939.

Page was also deputy Prime Minister to SM Bruce in 1923-29, and to Joseph Lyons in 1934-39. A founder of the Country Party, Page led the party in parliament from 1921 to 1939. He is also remembered for his long term as Minister for Health, from 1949-56, in the government of Robert Menzies.

Earle Page was born in Grafton, New South Wales, and became a doctor, also having farming and grazing interests. He was involved in the establishment of the Country Party and after entering the federal parliament in 1919 became Country Party leader in 1921.

He negotiated a coalition with the Nationalists in 1923 and was treasurer in the Bruce government until its defeat in 1929, setting up the Loan Council and the federal-state financial agreement.

In 1934 another coalition government was established, this time with Joseph Lyons and the United Australia Party. Page was deputy Prime Minister and when Lyons died in 1939 was sworn in as caretaker prime minister. He tried unsuccessfully to prevent Robert Menzies from becoming the new UAP leader.

He refused to serve under Menzies, which led to him losing the leadership of his own party.

During World War II he was Australian special envoy to the British War Cabinet. He later moderated his attitude to Menzies and served as health minister in coalition governments of the 1950s. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv He remained in parliament until his death in 1961.

He was knighted in 1938.