Background
McBride was born into a well-known pastoral family and educated at Burra Public School and Prince Alfred College in Adelaide.
member of the Australian Senate
McBride was born into a well-known pastoral family and educated at Burra Public School and Prince Alfred College in Adelaide.
In 1931, he was elected as the member for Grey in the Australian House of Representatives, representing the United Australia Party. McBride was elected by a joint sitting of both Houses of the South Australian parliament to fill the resulting casual Senate vacancy. McBride was Assistant Minister for Commerce from April 1939 to August 1940.
He was Minister for the Army and Minister for Repatriation from March to October 1940 in Robert Menzies ministry.
In the third Menzies Ministry, he was Minister for Supply and Development from October 1940 to June 1941 and Minister for Munitions from October 1940 to the defeat of the Menzies government in August 1941. He was defeated in the 1943 general election.
Following the election of the Manzies government in 1949, he became Minister for the Interior from 1949 to 1950. In 1950, he was appointed Minister for Defence, a position he retained to his retirement.
After McBride"s retirement, he was Federal President of the Liberal Party from 1960 to 1965.
United Australia Party, Liberal Party.
In the 1946 general election, he was elected as the member for Wakefield for the Liberal Party of Australia and held it to his retirement in 1958, as a member of the Liberal and Country League from 1951.