Ronald Crauford Munro-Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar , (March 6th 1860 – March 30th 1934), was the sixth General governor of Australia and certainly that which had the most political influence at its station. It was born close to Kirkcaldy, in the area of Fife, in Scotland. He was the son of a British appointed rich person of old Scottish stock. He made his studies with the military royal Académie of Sandhurst and exerted a military career until 1884, date on which he was elected appointed. He became private secretary of Lord Rosebery, a leader of the British liberal party and, in 1889, he married Lady Helen Blackwood, girl of Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st marquis de Dufferin and Ava which was Vice-roi of the Indies.

Like Rosebery, Munro-Ferguson supported the colonial policy of the British conservative government, including during the Guerre of Boers what made it very unpopular for the radical and anti left wing military of its party. It thus knew that it had little hope to make party of the governments of the time and this in spite of its obvious talents also in February 1914 was it happy to accept the general governor position of Australia even if the purpose of the proposal were principal to draw aside it from London.

It was happy that Munro-Ferguson is a politician of experiment because as soon as it arrived at Melbourne, it was confronted with a political crisis. The liberal government of Joseph Cook had a voice of majority to the House of Commons whereas the workers party had the majority with the Senate and made use of it systematically to block the government decisions. Cook was decided to cause a double dissolution according to section 57 of the Australian constitution.

The June 2nd 1914, just three weeks after the taking of by Munro-Ferguson, Cook required officially a double dissolution. Munro-Ferguson had several points to take into account. The Parliament had been elected in 1913 and was thus two years old of operation in front of him. Cook had not been reversed by the House of Commons. The only valid reason for its request was its impossibility of having a majority with the Senate. It was a situation without precedent because in the United Kingdom, the Upper House, the House of Lords, is not elected.

When Munro-Ferguson gave satisfaction to Cook, he was severely criticized by the workers party which affirmed that Cook made use wrongly of the Constitution to obtain the control of the Senate. Munro-Ferguson, influenced by the crisis of the British House of Lords of 1910, made the point that the point of view of the Lower House was to prevail. Paradoxically, they were the conservatives of the party of Cook who asserted that the general governor was to always take the opinion of the Prime Minister while the workers party explained that it was free of his choice.

Right in the middle of the countryside électoralearriva the news of bursting of the First World War what caused a serious crisis in the Australian government. The Parliament had been dissolved and the government could not any more but dispatch the go concern. Moreover Australian politicians of 1914 did not have aucuner experiment in the control of the agffaires Étrangères. Munro-Ferguson was the only man to have the constitutional authority and confidence to be able to act. It was Munro-Ferguson which convened the Councils of the Ministers, organized the plans of mobilization and discussed with the London government.

The operation of Cook was turned over against him when the workers party gained the elections in September and that Andrew Fisher took again its functions. But, from the beginning, it was energetic the Billy Hughes which was the driving force to support the effort of war. it draws up close links with Munro-Ferguson which could recognize its capacities. Munro-Ferguson saw its role in time of war like that of an agent of the British effort of war and not simply like that of a representative of the Crown. It supported in an open way the partisans of the war and was opposed to the others.

Fisher in October 1915 resigned and was replaced by Hughes like Prime Minister. Although Hughes is conceited and unforeseeable, Munro-Ferguson could recognize its qualities of war leader and supported it in public and private while respecting the role which was it his according to the Constitution. Hughes was persuaded that only the creation of an obligatory military service would make it possible Australia to maintain its effort of war and Munro-Ferguson gave all its support to him.

Hughes, Munro-Ferguson regarded the defeat of October 1916 and December 1917 of the referendums on the conscription as disasters for Australia and its effort of war. When Hughes was excluded from the Workers party after the first referendum, Munro-Ferguson enabled him to remain at its station like minority Prime Minister and encouraged Hughes and Cook to form a new party, the national party on a simple platform: to gain the war. During the countryside for the second referendum, Hughes was committed resigning if it were not followed but when it forgot its Munro-Ferguson promise quickly renewed it at its station.

In spite of their close cooperation, Hughes was not a puppet with the hands of Munro-Ferguson. When David Lloyd George became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Hughes started to communicate more and more directly with him - sometimes in Welsh what led Munro-Ferguson to complain that it took to him his place of intermediary between London and Melbourne. In spite of the affirmed wish of Munro-Ferguson make respect its rights of general governor, it could not prevent the decline of its station. When Australia obtained the right to have its own participation in the international businesses, which occurred in 1918, the period of influence of Munro-Ferguson was completed.

Munro-Ferguson in May 1919 asked for London the right of leave its station. It was obliged to remain to supervise the visit of Prince de Galles in Australia in 1920 and could finally leave in October 1920 after having occupied the station during more than six years. In 1922 it was named Ministre for the Scottish Businesses in the conservative government of Andrew Bonar Law station which it occupied until 1924.

He died in his bed in 1934.