Political Career
In 1954 he moved to Melbourne, where he practised law until 1955, when he was elected to the House of Representatives for the outer suburban seat of Bruce. He handily defeated Keith Ewert, the former Labor member for nearby Flinders. Snedden defeated Ewert by a similar margin in 1958.
In 1961, Snedden faced Ewert again, and this time trailed in initial counting. However, he was elected on DLP preferences. Snedden's narrow win was critical in the outcome of what was the closest election in Australian history at the time. Had Labor won it, it would have toppled the Coalition after 12 years of rule. However, with Snedden's win, the best Labor could hope for was a hung parliament, though the Coalition wasn't assured of another term in government until later in the night, with its narrow victory in Moreton.
In 1965 Prime Minister Robert Menzies appointed him Attorney-General. He was Minister for Immigration 1966–69, and Minister for Labour and National Service 1969–71, a difficult job which put him in charge of the government's highly unpopular policy of conscription for the Vietnam War. In 1967, following the death of Harold Holt, he was a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party, but his candidacy was not taken very seriously.
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