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Prime Minister of Australia

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Prime Minister of Australia
Coat of Arms of Australia.svg
Commonwealth Coat of Arms
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Flag of Australia
Scott Morrison 2014.jpg
Incumbent
Scott Morrison

since 24 August 2018
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
StyleThe Honourable[1]
(formal)
Prime Minister[2]
(informal)
StatusHead of government
AbbreviationPM
Member of
  • Parliament
  • National Cabinet
  • Cabinet
  • Federal Executive Council
Reports toHouse of Representatives
ResidenceThe Lodge, Canberra[3]
Kirribilli House, Sydney[3]
SeatCanberra
AppointerGovernor-General[4]
on the ability to command the confidence of the House of Representatives
Term lengthAt the Governor-General's pleasure
The holder is required to command the confidence of the House of Representatives[5]
Constituting instrumentNone (constitutional convention)
Formation1 January 1901 (federation)[4]
First holderEdmund Barton[4]
DeputyDeputy prime minister
SalaryA$549,250[6]
Websitepm.gov.au

The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of Australia. The prime minister is the leader of the federal government and is also accountable to federal parliament under the principles of responsible government. The incumbent prime minister is Scott Morrison, who took office in August 2018 as leader of the Liberal Party.

Formally appointed by the governor-general, the office of the prime minister is governed by Westminster system convention as it is not described in the Australian constitution. To become prime minister, a politician should be able to command the confidence of the House of Representatives. As such, the prime minister is typically the leader of the majority party or coalition. Prime ministers do not have a set duration or number of terms, but an individual's term generally ends when their political party loses a federal election, or they lose or relinquish the leadership of their party.

Executive power is formally vested in the monarch and exercised by the governor-general on advice from government ministers, who are nominated by the prime minister and form the Federal Executive Council. The most senior ministers form the federal cabinet, which the prime minister chairs. The prime minister also heads the National Cabinet and the National Security Committee. Administrative support is provided by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The prime minister has two official residences: The Lodge in Canberra and Kirribilli House in Sydney, as well as an office at Parliament House.

Thirty people have served as prime minister, the first of whom was Edmund Barton taking office on 1 January 1901 following federation. The longest-serving prime minister was Robert Menzies, who served over 18 years, and the shortest-serving was Frank Forde, who served one week. There is no legislated line of succession, however convention determines that the governor-general shall commission the deputy prime minister on a caretaker basis.

Constitutional basis and appointment[]

Australia's first prime minister, Edmund Barton at the central table in the House of Representatives in 1901.

The prime minister of Australia is appointed by the governor-general of Australia under Section 64 of the Australian Constitution, which empowers the governor-general to appoint government ministers of state on the advice of the Federal Executive Council, and requires them to be members of the House of Representatives or the Senate, or become members within three months of the appointment. The prime minister and treasurer are traditionally members of the House, but the Constitution does not have such a requirement.[7] Before being sworn in as a Minister of State, a person must first be sworn in as a member of the Federal Executive Council if they are not already a member. Membership of the Federal Executive Council entitles the member to the style of The Honourable (usually abbreviated to The Hon) for life, barring exceptional circumstances. The senior members of the Executive Council constitute the Cabinet of Australia.

The prime minister is, like other ministers, normally sworn in by the governor-general and then presented with the commission (letters patent) of office. When defeated in an election, or on resigning, the prime minister is said to "hand in the commission" and actually does so by returning it to the governor-general. In the event of a prime minister dying in office, or becoming incapacitated, or for other reasons, the governor-general can terminate the commission. Ministers hold office "during the pleasure of the governor-general" (s. 64 of the Constitution of Australia), so in practice, the governor-general can dismiss a minister at any time, by notifying them in writing of the termination of their commission; however, their power to do so except on the advice of the prime minister is heavily circumscribed by convention.

John Gorton being sworn in as the 19th Prime Minister on 10 January 1968. To date, Gorton is the only Senator to have served as Prime Minister, though he would swiftly move to the House of Representatives as the member for Higgins.

According to convention, the prime minister is the leader of the majority party or largest party in a coalition of parties in the House of Representatives which holds the confidence of the House. The governor-general may also dismiss a prime minister who is unable to pass the government's supply bill through both houses of parliament, including the Australian Senate, where the government doesn't normally command the majority, as happened in the 1975 constitutional crisis.[8] Other commentators argue that the governor-general acted improperly in 1975 as Whitlam still retained the confidence of the House of Representatives, and there are no generally accepted conventions to guide the use of the governor-general's reserve powers in this circumstance.[9] However, there is no constitutional requirement that the prime minister sit in the House of Representatives, or even be a member of the federal parliament (subject to a constitutionally prescribed limit of three months), though by convention this is always the case. The only case where a member of the Senate was appointed prime minister was John Gorton, who subsequently resigned his Senate position and was elected as the member for Higgins in the House of Representatives.

Despite the importance of the office of prime minister, the Constitution does not mention the office by name. The conventions of the Westminster system were thought to be sufficiently entrenched in Australia by the authors of the Constitution that it was deemed unnecessary to detail these.[10] Indeed, prior to Federation in 1901 the terms "premier" and "prime minister" were used interchangeably for the head of government in a colony.[11]

If a government cannot get its appropriation (budget) legislation passed by the House of Representatives, or the House passes a vote of "no confidence" in the government, the prime minister is bound by convention to immediately advise the governor-general to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold a fresh election.[citation needed]

Following a resignation in other circumstances or the death of a prime minister, the governor-general generally appoints the deputy prime minister as the new prime minister, until or if such time as the governing party or senior coalition party elects an alternative party leader. This has resulted in the party leaders from the Country Party (now named National Party) being appointed as prime minister, despite being the smaller party of their coalition. This occurred when Earle Page became caretaker prime minister following the death of Joseph Lyons in 1939, and when John McEwen became caretaker prime minister following the disappearance of Harold Holt in 1967. However, in 1941, Arthur Fadden became the leader of the Coalition and subsequently prime minister by the agreement of both coalition parties, despite being the leader of the smaller party in coalition, following the resignation of UAP leader Robert Menzies.

Excluding the brief transition periods during changes of government or leadership elections, there have only been a handful of cases where someone other than the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives was prime minister:

  • Federation occurred on 1 January 1901, but elections for the first parliament were not scheduled until late March. In the interim, an unelected caretaker government was necessary. In what is now known as the Hopetoun Blunder, the governor-general, Lord Hopetoun, invited Sir William Lyne, the premier of the most populous state, New South Wales, to form a government. Lyne was unable to do so and returned his commission in favour of Edmund Barton, who became the first prime minister and led the inaugural government into and beyond the election.
  • During the second parliament, three parties (Free Trade, Protectionist and Labor) had roughly equal representation in the House of Representatives. The leaders of the three parties, Alfred Deakin, George Reid and Chris Watson each served as prime minister before losing a vote of confidence.
  • As a result of the Labor Party's split over conscription, Billy Hughes and his supporters were expelled from the Labor Party in November 1916. He subsequently continued on as prime minister at the head of the new National Labor Party, which had only 14 members out of a total of 75 in the House of Representatives. The Commonwealth Liberal Party – despite still forming the official Opposition – provided confidence and supply until February 1917, when the two parties agreed to merge and formed the Nationalist Party.
  • During the 1975 constitutional crisis, on 11 November 1975, the governor-general, Sir John Kerr, dismissed the Labor Party's Gough Whitlam as prime minister. Despite Labor holding a majority in the House of Representatives, Kerr appointed the Leader of the Opposition, Liberal leader Malcolm Fraser as caretaker prime minister, conditional on the passage of the Whitlam government's Supply bills through the Senate and the calling of an election for both houses of parliament. Fraser accepted these terms and immediately advised a double dissolution. An election was called for 13 December, which the Liberal Party won in its own right (although the Liberals governed in a coalition with the Country Party).

Powers and role[]

The first prime minister of Australia, Edmund Barton (sitting second from left), with his Cabinet, 1901.

Most of the prime minister's power derives from being the head of government.[12] In practice, the Federal Executive Council acts to ratify all executive decisions made by the government and requires the support of the prime minister. The powers of the prime minister are to direct the governor-general through advice to grant Royal Assent to legislation, to dissolve and prorogue parliament, to call elections and to make government appointments, which the governor-general follows according to convention.

The Constitution divides power between the federal government and the states, and the prime minister is constrained by this.[13]

The formal power to appoint the governor-general lies with the Queen of Australia, on the advice of the prime minister, whereby convention holds that the queen is bound to follow the advice. The prime minister can also advise the monarch to dismiss the governor-general, though it remains unclear how quickly the monarch would act on such advice in a constitutional crisis. This uncertainty, and the possibility of a "race" between the governor-general and prime minister to dismiss the other, was a key question in the 1975 constitutional crisis. Prime ministers whose government loses a vote of no-confidence in the House of Representatives, are expected to advise the governor-general to dissolve parliament and hold an election, if an alternative government cannot be formed. If they fail to do this, the governor-general may by convention dissolve parliament or appoint an alternative government.[8]

The prime minister is also the responsible minister for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which is tasked with supporting the policy agendas of the prime minister and Cabinet through policy advice and the coordination of the implementation of key government programs, to manage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy and programs and to promote reconciliation, to provide leadership for the Australian Public Service alongside the Australian Public Service Commission, to oversee the honours and symbols of the Commonwealth, to provide support to ceremonies and official visits, to set whole of government service delivery policy, and to coordinate national security, cyber, counterterrorism, regulatory reform, cities, population, data, and women's policy.[14] Since 1992, the prime minister also acts as the chair of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), an intergovernmental forum between the federal government and the state governments in which the prime minister, the state premiers and chief ministers, and a representative of local governments meet annually.[15]

Privileges of office[]

Salary[]

Prime ministerial salary history
Effective date Salary Ref.
2 June 1999 $289,270
6 September 2006 $309,270
1 July 2007 $330,356
1 October 2009 $340,704 [16]
1 August 2010 $354,671 [17]
1 July 2011 $366,366
1 December 2011 $440,000
15 March 2012 $481,000 [18]
1 July 2012 $495,430 [19]
1 July 2013 $507,338 [20]
1 January 2016 $517,504 [21]
1 July 2017 $527,852 [22]
1 July 2018 $538,460 [23]
1 July 2019 $549,250 [23]

As of 1 July 2019, Australia's prime minister is paid a total salary of $549,250. This is made up of the 'base salary' received by all Members of Parliament ($211,250) plus a 160 percent 'additional salary' for the role of prime minister.[24] Increases in the base salary of MPs and senators are determined annually by the independent Remuneration Tribunal.[23]

Residences and transport[]

Prime ministers Curtin, Fadden, Hughes, Menzies and Governor-General The Duke of Gloucester 2nd from left, in 1945.

While in office, the prime minister has two official residences. The primary official residence is The Lodge in Canberra. Most prime ministers have chosen The Lodge as their primary residence because of its security facilities and close proximity to Parliament House. There have been some exceptions, however. James Scullin preferred to live at the Hotel Canberra (now the Hyatt Hotel) and Ben Chifley lived in the Hotel Kurrajong. More recently, John Howard used the Sydney Prime Ministerial residence, Kirribilli House, as his primary accommodation. On her appointment on 24 June 2010, Julia Gillard said she would not be living in The Lodge until such time as she was returned to office by popular vote at the next general election, as she became prime minister by replacing an incumbent during a parliamentary term. Tony Abbott was never able to occupy The Lodge during his term (2013–15) as it was undergoing extensive renovations, which continued into the early part of his successor Malcolm Turnbull's term.[25] Instead, Abbott resided in dedicated rooms at the Australian Federal Police College when in Canberra.

During his first term, Rudd had a staff at The Lodge consisting of a senior chef and an assistant chef, a child carer, one senior house attendant, and two junior house attendants. At Kirribilli House in Sydney, there are a full-time chef and a full-time house attendant.[26] The official residences are fully staffed and catered for both the prime minister and their family. In addition, both have extensive security facilities. These residences are regularly used for official entertaining, such as receptions for Australian of the Year finalists.

The prime minister receives a number of transport amenities for official business. The Royal Australian Air Force's No. 34 Squadron transports the prime minister within Australia and overseas by specially converted Boeing Business Jets and smaller Challenger aircraft. The aircraft contain secure communications equipment as well as an office, conference room and sleeping compartments. The call-sign for the aircraft is "Envoy". For ground travel, the prime minister is transported in an armoured BMW 7 Series model. It is referred to as "C-1", or Commonwealth One, because of its number plate. It is escorted by police vehicles from state and federal authorities.[27]

After office[]

Politicians, including prime ministers, are usually granted certain privileges after leaving office, such as office accommodation, staff assistance, and a Life Gold Pass, which entitles the holder to travel within Australia for "non-commercial" purposes at government expense. In 2017, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the pass should be available only to former prime ministers, though he would not use it when he was no longer PM.[28]

Only one prime minister who had left the Federal Parliament ever returned. Stanley Bruce was defeated in his own seat in 1929 while prime minister but was re-elected to parliament in 1931. Other prime ministers were elected to parliaments other than the Australian federal parliament: Sir George Reid was elected to the UK House of Commons (after his term as High Commissioner to the UK), and Frank Forde was re-elected to the Queensland Parliament (after his term as High Commissioner to Canada, and a failed attempt to re-enter the Federal Parliament).

Acting prime ministers and succession[]

The Deputy Prime Minister becomes Acting Prime Minister if the Prime Minister is unable to undertake their role for a short time, for example if they are ill, overseas or on leave (and if both are unavailable, then another senior minister takes on this role).[29] The Acts Interpretation Act 1901 confers upon acting ministers "the same power and authority with respect to the absent Minister's statutory responsibilities".[30][31]

If the Prime Minister were to die, then the Deputy Prime Minister would be appointed Prime Minister by the Governor-General, until the government votes for another member to be its leader.[29] This happened when Harold Holt disappeared in 1967,[29] when John McEwen was appointed Prime Minister.[32] On the other two occasions that the Prime Minister has died in office, in 1939 and 1945, Earle Page and Frank Forde, respectively, were appointed Prime Minister.[32]

In the early 20th century, overseas travel generally required long journeys by ship. As a result, some held the position of acting prime minister for significant periods of time, including William Watt (16 months, 1918–1919),[33] George Pearce (7 months, 1916),[34] Alfred Deakin (6 months, 1902),[35] Joseph Cook (5 months, 1921),[36] James Fenton (19 weeks, 1930–1931),[37] John Forrest (4 months, 1907),[38] and Arthur Fadden (4 months, 1941). Fadden was acting prime minister for a cumulative total of 676 days (over 22 months) between 1941 and 1958.[39]

Former prime ministers[]

As of September 2021, there are six living former Australian prime ministers.[40]

The greatest number of living former prime ministers at any one time was eight. This has occurred twice:

  • Between 7 October 1941 (when John Curtin succeeded Arthur Fadden) and 18 November 1941 (when Chris Watson died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Hughes, Menzies, Page, Scullin and Watson.
  • Between 13 July 1945 (when Ben Chifley succeeded Frank Forde) and 30 July 1947 (when Sir Joseph Cook died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Forde, Hughes, Menzies, Page and Scullin.

All except Cook and Bruce, as former prime ministers served in Parliament at the same time between Chifley succeeding Forde on 13 July 1945 and Forde losing his seat at the 1946 election. This marks the greatest number (six) of former prime ministers serving in Parliament concurrently at any one time.

Ben Chifley lived the least of all former prime ministers, as he died one year and six months after his term as prime minister.[41] All other deceased former prime ministers have lived at least another 10 years, with the longest surviving former prime minister being Gough Whitlam, who lived 38 years and 11 months after office, surpassing Stanley Bruce's previous record of 37 years and 10 months.[42]

Honours[]

Prime ministers have been granted numerous honours, typically after their period as prime minister has concluded, with a few exceptions. Prime ministers were awarded honours within the British honours system before 1975, when appointment to the Order of Australia began. Only one former prime minister, John Howard, has been awarded a British honour since 1975, being the Order of Merit (within the Queen's personal gift) in 2012.[43]

Nine former prime ministers were awarded knighthoods: Barton (GCMG, 1902),[44] Reid (GCMG, 1911),[45] Cook (GCMG, 1918),[46] Page (GCMG, 1938),[47] Menzies (KT, 1963),[48] Fadden (KCMG, 1951),[49] McEwen (GCMG, 1971),[50] Gorton (GCMG, 1977),[51] and McMahon (GCMG, 1977).[52] Of those awarded, Barton and Menzies were knighted while still serving as prime minister, with Page awarded his before becoming prime minister, and the remainder awarded after leaving office. Reid (GCB, 1916),[53] Menzies (AK, 1976)[54] and Fadden (GCMG, 1958)[55] were awarded a second knighthood after leaving office.

Non-titular honours were also bestowed on former prime ministers, usually the Order of the Companions of Honour. This honour was awarded to Bruce (1927),[56] Lyons (1936),[57] Hughes (1941),[58] Page (1942),[59] Menzies (1951),[60] Holt (1967),[61] McEwen (1969),[62] Gorton (1971),[63] McMahon (1972),[64] and Fraser (1977),[65] mostly during office as prime minister. John Howard was appointed to the Order of Merit in 2012.

In almost all occasions these honours were only accepted by non-Labor/conservative prime ministers. However, appointment to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom was accepted by all prime ministers until 1983 (with the exception of Alfred Deakin, Chris Watson and Gough Whitlam), with Malcolm Fraser being the last prime ministerial appointee.

Since its introduction in 1975, former prime ministers of Australia have been appointed to the Order of Australia and to its highest level – Companion: Whitlam (1978),[66] Fraser (1988),[67] Gorton (1988),[68] Howard (2008),[69] Gillard (2017),[70] Rudd (2019),[71] Abbott (2020),[72] and Turnbull (2021).[73] Keating refused appointment in 1997.[74] Bob Hawke was appointed a Companion in 1979, for service to trade unionism and industrial relations, before becoming prime minister in 1983.[75] Menzies was appointed to the higher grade of Knight of the Order, which is no longer awarded, in 1976.

In addition to these honours, all deceased former prime ministers of Australia currently have federal electorates named after them, with the exceptions of Joseph Cook (a Division of Cook does exist, but it is only named after explorer James Cook) and the recently deceased Bob Hawke.

List[]

The longest-serving prime minister was Sir Robert Menzies, who served in office twice: from 26 April 1939 to 28 August 1941, and again from 19 December 1949 to 26 January 1966. In total Robert Menzies spent 18 years, 5 months and 12 days in office. He served under the United Australia Party and the Liberal Party respectively.

The shortest-serving prime minister was Frank Forde, who was appointed to the position on 6 July 1945 after the death of John Curtin, and served until 13 July 1945 when Ben Chifley was elected leader of the Australian Labor Party.

The last prime minister to serve out a full government term in the office was John Howard, who won the 2004 election and led his party to the 2007 election, but lost. Since then, the five subsequent prime ministers have been either voted out of the office mid-term by the caucuses of their own parties, assumed the office mid-term under such circumstances, or both.

List of prime ministers of Australia
No. Name
(birth–death)
Portrait Party Term of office Elections won Ministry
1 Sir Edmund Barton
(1849–1920)
Edmund Barton crop.PNG Protectionist 1 January
1901
24 September
1903
1901 Barton
2 Alfred Deakin
(1856–1919)
Alfred Deakin crop.jpg Protectionist 24 September
1903
27 April
1904
1903 1st Deakin
3 Chris Watson
(1867–1941)
ChrisWatsonBW crop.jpg Labor 27 April
1904
18 August
1904
Watson
4 George Reid
(1845–1918)
George Reid crop.jpg Free Trade 18 August
1904
5 July
1905
Reid
(2) Alfred Deakin
(1856–1919)
AlfredDeakin.jpeg Protectionist 5 July
1905
13 November
1908
1906 2nd Deakin
5 Andrew Fisher
(1862–1928)
Andrew Fisher 1908.jpg Labor 13 November
1908
2 June
1909
1st Fisher
(2) Alfred Deakin
(1856–1919)
Alfred Deakin 1910 (crop).tif Liberal 2 June
1909
29 April
1910
3rd Deakin
(5) Andrew Fisher
(1862–1928)
Andrew Fisher 1912 (b&w).jpg Labor 29 April
1910
24 June
1913
1910 2nd Fisher
6 Joseph Cook
(1860–1947)
Joseph Cook - Crown Studios 03.jpg Liberal 24 June
1913
17 September
1914
1913 Cook
(5) Andrew Fisher
(1862–1928)
AndrewFisher.jpg Labor 17 September
1914
27 October
1915
1914 3rd Fisher
Billy Hughes
(1862–1952)
Billy Hughes 1919.jpg Labor 27 October
1915
14 November
1916
1st Hughes
7 National Labor 14 November
1916
17 February
1917
2nd Hughes
Nationalist 17 February
1917
9 February
1923
3rd Hughes
1917 4th Hughes
1919 5th Hughes
8 Stanley Bruce
(1883–1967)
Stanley Bruce 1926.jpg Nationalist
(Coalition)
9 February
1923
22 October
1929
1922 1st Bruce
1925 2nd Bruce
1928 3rd Bruce
9 James Scullin
(1876–1953)
Portrait of the Right Hon. J. H. Scullin.png Labor 22 October
1929
6 January
1932
1929 Scullin
10 Joseph Lyons
(1879–1939)
Joseph Lyons.jpg United Australia
(Coalition after Nov. 1934)
6 January
1932
7 April
1939
1931 1st Lyons
1934 2nd Lyons
3rd Lyons
1937 4th Lyons
11 Sir Earle Page
(1880–1961)
Earle Page.jpg Country
(Coalition)
7 April
1939
26 April
1939
Page
(Caretaker)
12 Robert Menzies
(1894–1978)
Robert Menzies in 1939.jpg United Australia
(Coalition after Mar. 1940)
26 April
1939
29 August
1941
1st Menzies
2nd Menzies
1940 3rd Menzies
13 Arthur Fadden
(1894–1973)
FaddenPEO.jpg Country
(Coalition)
29 August
1941
7 October
1941
Fadden
14 John Curtin
(1885–1945)
JohnCurtin.jpg Labor 7 October
1941
5 July
1945
1st Curtin
1943 2nd Curtin
15 Frank Forde
(1890–1983)
Frank Forde 1945.jpg Labor 6 July
1945
13 July
1945
Forde
(Caretaker)
16 Ben Chifley
(1885–1951)
Benchifley.jpg Labor 13 July
1945
19 December
1949
1st Chifley
1946 2nd Chifley
(12) Sir Robert Menzies
(1894–1978)
Portrait Menzies 1950s.jpg Liberal
(Coalition)
19 December
1949
26 January
1966
1949 4th Menzies
1951 5th Menzies
1954 6th Menzies
1955 7th Menzies
1958 8th Menzies
1961 9th Menzies
1963 10th Menzies
17 Harold Holt
(1908–1967)
Harold Holt 1965 01.jpg Liberal
(Coalition)
26 January
1966
19 December
1967
1st Holt
1966 2nd Holt
18 John McEwen
(1900–1980)
Sir John McEwen.jpg Country
(Coalition)
19 December
1967
10 January
1968
McEwen
(Caretaker)
19 John Gorton
(1911–2002)
JohnGorton1968.jpg Liberal
(Coalition)
10 January
1968
10 March
1971
1st Gorton
1969 2nd Gorton
20 William McMahon
(1908–1988)
McMahon 1971 (cropped).jpg Liberal
(Coalition)
10 March
1971
5 December
1972
McMahon
21 Gough Whitlam
(1916–2014)
Gough Whitlam headshot.jpg Labor 5 December
1972
11 November
1975
1972 1st Whitlam
2nd Whitlam
1974 3rd Whitlam
22 Malcolm Fraser
(1930–2015)
Malcolm Fraser 1977 (cropped).jpg Liberal
(Coalition)
11 November
1975
11 March
1983
1st Fraser
1975 2nd Fraser
1977 3rd Fraser
1980 4th Fraser
23 Bob Hawke
(1929–2019)
Hawke Bob BANNER.jpg Labor 11 March
1983
20 December
1991
1983 1st Hawke
1984 2nd Hawke
1987 3rd Hawke
1990 4th Hawke
24 Paul Keating
(1944–)
Keating Paul BANNER.jpg Labor 20 December
1991
11 March
1996
1st Keating
1993 2nd Keating
25 John Howard
(1939–)
Howard John BANNER.jpg Liberal
(Coalition)
11 March
1996
3 December
2007
1996 1st Howard
1998 2nd Howard
2001 3rd Howard
2004 4th Howard
26 Kevin Rudd
(1957–)
Kevin Rudd official portrait.jpg Labor 3 December
2007
24 June
2010
2007 1st Rudd
27 Julia Gillard
(1961–)
Julia Gillard official photo.jpg Labor 24 June
2010
27 June
2013
1st Gillard
2010 2nd Gillard
(26) Kevin Rudd
(1957–)
Kevin Rudd official portrait.jpg Labor 27 June
2013
18 September
2013
2nd Rudd
28 Tony Abbott
(1957–)
Tony Abbott official photo.jpg Liberal
(Coalition)
18 September
2013
15 September
2015
2013 Abbott
29 Malcolm Turnbull
(1954–)
Malcolm Turnbull PEO (cropped).jpg Liberal
(Coalition)
15 September
2015
24 August
2018
1st Turnbull
2016 2nd Turnbull
30 Scott Morrison
(1968–)
Scott Morrison 2014 crop.jpg Liberal
(Coalition)
24 August
2018
Incumbent 1st Morrison
2019 2nd Morrison

See also[]

  • Historical rankings of prime ministers of Australia
  • List of Commonwealth heads of government
  • List of prime ministers of Australia
  • List of prime ministers of Australia (graphical)
  • List of prime ministers of Australia by age
  • List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office
  • List of prime ministers of Elizabeth II
  • Prime Ministers Avenue in Horse Chestnut Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens contains a collection of bronze busts of former Australian prime ministers.
  • Prime Minister's XI
  • Spouse of the prime minister of Australia
  • Leader of the Opposition (Australia)

References[]

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Further reading[]

  • Abjorensen, Norman (2015). The Manner of Their Going: Prime Ministerial Exits from Lyne to Abbott. Australian Scholarly. ISBN 9781925333213.
  • Grattan, Michelle (2016). Australian Prime Ministers. New Holland. ISBN 9781742579337.
  • Hughes, Colin (1976). Mr Prime Minister: Australian Prime Ministers 1901–1972. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195504712.
  • Strangio, Paul (2013). "Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The Australian Experience". In Strangio, Paul; 't Hart, Paul; Walter, James (eds.). Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance: Comparative Perspectives. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199666423.
  • Strangio, Paul; 't Hart, Paul; Walter, James (2016). Settling the Office: The Australian Prime Ministership from Federation to Reconstruction. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522868722.
  • Strangio, Paul; 't Hart, Paul; Walter, James (2017). The Pivot of Power: Australian Prime Ministers and Political Leadership, 1949-2016. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 9780522868746.
  • Whitington, Don (1972). Twelfth Man?. Jacaranda Press. ISBN 0701605855.

External links[]

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