The Leader of the Liberal Party, also known as Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party, is the highest office within the Liberal Party of Australia and is the leader of the Liberal–National Coalition. The incumbent leader is Sussan Ley, who was elected on 13 May 2025.
| Leader of the Liberal Party | |
|---|---|
Incumbent since 13 May 2025Sussan Ley | |
| Style | The Honourable |
| Type | Party leader |
| Member of |
|
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Constituting instrument | Clause 14.2, Constitution of the Federal Liberal Party |
| Inaugural holder | Robert Menzies |
| Formation | 21 February 1945 |
| Unofficial names | Leader of the Coalition |
| Deputy | Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party |
History
The Liberal Party leadership was first held by former United Australia Party leader and eventual co–founder Robert Menzies, along with eighteen political organisations and groups.
Following the oustings of two Liberal prime ministers in three years, Scott Morrison introduced a new threshold to trigger a Liberal Party leadership change in government, requiring two-thirds of the partyroom vote to trigger a spill motion. The change was introduced at an hour long party room meeting on the evening of 3 December 2018. Morrison said the changes, which were drafted with feedback from former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott, would only apply to leaders who lead the party to victory at a federal election.
Role
Since the days of Menzies, the Liberal Party has either been in government in a coalition or in opposition to Labor. Thus, the leader of the Liberal Party has always served as either the Prime Minister of Australia or the Leader of the Opposition. Furthermore, the leader picks the Cabinet and is also the leader of the Coalition. The Liberal Party has only had one leader of the party from the Senate, John Gorton, for a brief period in January 1968 before he resigned from the Senate to contest the Higgins by-election in February 1968.
Leaders of the Liberal Party
- Note: the right-hand column does not allocate height proportional to time in office.
| No. | Leader (birth–death) | Portrait | Electorate | Took office | Left office | Election contested | Prime Minister (term) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Menzies (1894–1978) | Kooyong, Vic. | 21 February 1945 | 20 January 1966 | 1946 1949 1951 1954 1955 1958 1961 1963 | Curtin (1941–1945) | ||
| Forde (1945) | ||||||||
| Chifley (1945–1949) | ||||||||
| Himself (1949–1966) | ||||||||
| 2 | Harold Holt (1908–1967) | Higgins, Vic. | 20 January 1966 (unopposed) | 17 December 1967 (died in office) | 1966 | Himself (1966–1967) | ||
| 3 | John Gorton (1911–2002) | Senator for Victoria (9 January – 1 February) Higgins, Vic. | 9 January 1968 (elected) | 10 March 1971 | 1969 | McEwen (1967–1968) | ||
| Himself (1967–1971) | ||||||||
| 4 | William McMahon (1908–1988) | Lowe, NSW | 10 March 1971 (elected) | 20 December 1972 | 1972 | Himself (1971–1972) | ||
| Whitlam (1972–1975) | ||||||||
| 5 | Billy Snedden (1926–1987) | Bruce, Vic. | 20 December 1972 (elected) | 21 March 1975 | 1974 | |||
| 6 | Malcolm Fraser (1930–2015) | Wannon, Vic. | 21 March 1975 (elected) | 11 March 1983 | 1975 1977 1980 1983 | |||
| Himself (1975–1983) | ||||||||
| Hawke (1983–1991) | ||||||||
| 7 | Andrew Peacock (1939–2021) (1st time) | Kooyong, Vic. | 11 March 1983 (elected) | 5 September 1985 | 1984 | |||
| 8 | John Howard (b. 1939) (1st time) | Bennelong, NSW | 5 September 1985 (elected) | 9 May 1989 | 1987 | |||
| (7) | Andrew Peacock (1939–2021) (2nd time) | Kooyong, Vic. | 9 May 1989 (elected) | 3 April 1990 | 1990 | |||
| 9 | John Hewson (b. 1946) | Wentworth, NSW | 3 April 1990 (elected) | 23 May 1994 | 1993 | |||
| Keating (1991–1996) | ||||||||
| 10 | Alexander Downer (b. 1951) | Mayo, SA | 23 May 1994 (elected) | 30 January 1995 | None | |||
| (8) | John Howard (b. 1939) (2nd time) | Bennelong, NSW | 30 January 1995 (unopposed) | 29 November 2007 | 1996 1998 2001 2004 2007 | |||
| Himself (1996–2007) | ||||||||
| 11 | Brendan Nelson (b. 1958) | Bradfield, NSW | 29 November 2007 (elected) | 16 September 2008 | None | Rudd (2007–2010) | ||
| 12 | Malcolm Turnbull (b. 1954) (1st time) | Wentworth, NSW | 16 September 2008 (elected) | 1 December 2009 | None | |||
| 13 | Tony Abbott (b. 1957) | Warringah, NSW | 1 December 2009 (elected) | 14 September 2015 | 2010 2013 | |||
| Gillard (2010–2013) | ||||||||
| Rudd (2013) | ||||||||
| Himself (2013–2015) | ||||||||
| (12) | Malcolm Turnbull (b. 1954) (2nd time) | Wentworth, NSW | 14 September 2015 (elected) | 24 August 2018 | 2016 | Himself (2015–2018) | ||
| 14 | Scott Morrison (b. 1968) | Cook, NSW | 24 August 2018 (elected) | 30 May 2022 | 2019 2022 | Himself (2018–2022) | ||
| Albanese (2022–incumbent) | ||||||||
| 15 | Peter Dutton (b. 1970) | Dickson, Qld. | 30 May 2022 (unopposed) | 5 May 2025 | 2025 | |||
| 16 | Sussan Ley (b. 1961) | Farrer, NSW | 13 May 2025 (elected) | Incumbent | None | |||
Federal leaders by time in office
This list ranks federal leaders of the Liberal Party by their time in office. Leaders that also served as Prime Minister are in bold. Where leaders served non-consecutive terms, their total time as leader is ranked together.
| Rank | No. | Leader | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1st | Robert Menzies | 20 years, 133 days |
| 2 | 8th | John Howard | 16 years, 184 days |
| 3 | 6th | Malcolm Fraser | 7 years, 355 days |
| 4 | 13th | Tony Abbott | 5 years, 287 days |
| 5 | 12th | Malcolm Turnbull | 4 years, 59 days |
| 6 | 9th | John Hewson | 4 years, 50 days |
| 7 | 14th | Scott Morrison | 3 years, 279 days |
| 8 | 7th | Andrew Peacock | 3 years, 142 days |
| 9 | 3rd | John Gorton | 3 years, 59 days |
| 10 | 15th | Peter Dutton | 2 years, 338 days |
| 11 | 5th | Billy Snedden | 2 years, 91 days |
| 12 | 2nd | Harold Holt | 1 year, 333 days |
| 13 | 4th | William McMahon | 1 year, 270 days |
| 14 | 11th | Brendan Nelson | 292 days |
| 15 | 10th | Alexander Downer | 252 days |
| 16 | 16th | Sussan Ley | 220 days |
Federal deputy leaders
| # | Name | State | Term start | Term end | Duration | Leader(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Harrison | New South Wales | 21 February 1945 | 26 September 1956 | 11 years, 218 days | Robert Menzies |
| 2 | Harold Holt | Victoria | 26 September 1956 | 20 January 1966 | 9 years, 116 days | |
| 3 | William McMahon | New South Wales | 20 January 1966 | 10 March 1971 | 5 years, 49 days | Harold Holt John Gorton |
| 4 | John Gorton | Victoria | 10 March 1971 | 16 August 1971 | 159 days | William McMahon |
| 5 | Billy Snedden | Victoria | 18 August 1971 | 20 December 1972 | 1 year, 124 days | |
| 6 | Phillip Lynch | Victoria | 20 December 1972 | 8 April 1982 | 9 years, 109 days | Billy Snedden Malcolm Fraser |
| 7 | John Howard | New South Wales | 8 April 1982 | 5 September 1985 | 3 years, 150 days | Malcolm Fraser Andrew Peacock |
| 8 | Neil Brown | Victoria | 5 September 1985 | 17 July 1987 | 1 year, 315 days | John Howard |
| 9 | Andrew Peacock | Victoria | 17 July 1987 | 9 May 1989 | 1 year, 296 days | |
| 10 | Fred Chaney | Western Australia | 9 May 1989 | 3 April 1990 | 329 days | Andrew Peacock |
| 11 | Peter Reith | Victoria | 24 March 1990 | 13 March 1993 | 2 years, 354 days | John Hewson |
| 12 | Michael Wooldridge | Victoria | 13 March 1993 | 23 May 1994 | 1 year, 71 days | |
| 13 | Peter Costello | Victoria | 23 May 1994 | 29 November 2007 | 13 years, 190 days | Alexander Downer John Howard |
| 14 | Julie Bishop | Western Australia | 29 November 2007 | 24 August 2018 | 10 years, 268 days | Brendan Nelson Malcolm Turnbull Tony Abbott |
| 15 | Josh Frydenberg | Victoria | 24 August 2018 | 30 May 2022 | 3 years, 279 days | Scott Morrison |
| 16 | Sussan Ley | New South Wales | 30 May 2022 | 13 May 2025 | 2 years, 348 days | Peter Dutton Herself (acting) |
| 17 | Ted O'Brien | Queensland | 13 May 2025 | Incumbent | 220 days | Susan Ley |
Leaders in the Senate
| Leader | Term began | Term ended | Portfolio | Status | Parliamentary leader | Term in office | Deputy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neil O'Sullivan | 21 February 1950 | 8 December 1958 |
| Government | Menzies | 8 years, 290 days | |
| Bill Spooner | 8 December 1958 | 2 June 1964 |
| 5 years, 178 days | Shane Paltridge | ||
| Shane Paltridge | 10 June 1964 | 19 January 1966 | Defence | 1 year, 230 days | Denham Henty | ||
| Denham Henty | 26 January 1966 | 16 October 1967 | Supply | Holt | 1 year, 263 days | John Gorton | |
| John Gorton | 16 October 1967 | 1 February 1968 |
| 108 days | Denham Henty | ||
| None | |||||||
| Himself | |||||||
| Ken Anderson | 28 February 1968 | 5 December 1972 |
| Gorton | 4 years, 281 days | ||
| Annabelle Rankin | |||||||
| McMahon | |||||||
| Reg Wright | |||||||
| Reg Withers | 20 December 1972 | 11 November 1975 | Opposition | Snedden | 5 years, 230 days | ||
| Opposition | Fraser | ||||||
| 12 November 1975 | 7 August 1978 |
| Government | ||||
| John Carrick | 7 August 1978 | 11 March 1983 |
| 4 years, 216 days | |||
| Fred Chaney | 11 March 1983 | 27 February 1990 |
| Opposition | Peacock | 6 years, 353 days | |
| Howard | ||||||
| Peacock | ||||||
| Robert Hill | 3 April 1990 | 11 March 1996 |
| Hewson | 15 years, 292 days | ||
| Education, Science and Technology | Downer | ||||||
| Howard | |||||||
| 11 March 1996 | 20 January 2006 |
| Government | Howard | Nick Minchin | ||
| Nick Minchin | 27 January 2006 | 3 December 2007 |
| 4 years, 96 days | Helen Coonan | ||
| 3 December 2007 | 3 May 2010 | ||||||
| Defence | Opposition | Nelson | Eric Abetz | ||||
| Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy | Turnbull | ||||||
| Resources and Energy | Abbott | ||||||
| Eric Abetz | 3 May 2010 | 18 September 2013 | Employment and Workplace Relations | 2 years, 2 days | George Brandis | ||
| 18 September 2013 | 21 September 2015 | Employment | Government | Abbott | |||
| George Brandis | 21 September 2015 | 20 December 2017 | Attorney-General V-P Exec. Council | Turnbull | 2 years, 90 days | Mathias Cormann | |
| Mathias Cormann | 20 December 2017 | 30 October 2020 | Finance and the Public Service V-P Exec. Council | 2 years, 315 days | Mitch Fifield Simon Birmingham | ||
| Morrison | |||||||
| Simon Birmingham | 30 October 2020 | 25 January 2025 | Finance Trade, Tourism and Investment (to Dec 2020) V-P Exec. Council | 4 years, 87 days | Michaelia Cash | ||
| Foreign Affairs | Opposition | Dutton | |||||
| Michaelia Cash | 25 January 2025 | Incumbent | Employment and Workplace Relations | 328 days | Anne Ruston | ||
| Foreign Affairs | Ley |
See also
wikipedia, wiki, encyclopedia, book, library, article, read, free download, Information about Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, What is Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia? What does Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia mean?