Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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, as well as within the Liberal–National Coalition. The incumbent leader is Angus Taylor, who was elected on 13 February 2026.[2]

TypeParty leader
Member of
  • Parliamentary Liberal Party
  • Liberal Party Federal Council
Term lengthNo fixed term
Constituting instrumentClause 14.2, Constitution of the Federal Liberal Party[1]
Quick facts of the Liberal Party, Type ...
Leader of the Liberal Party
Incumbent
Angus Taylor
since 13 February 2026
TypeParty leader
Member of
  • Parliamentary Liberal Party
  • Liberal Party Federal Council
Term lengthNo fixed term
Constituting instrumentClause 14.2, Constitution of the Federal Liberal Party[1]
Inaugural holderRobert Menzies
Formation21 February 1945
Unofficial namesLeader of the Liberal–National Coalition
DeputyDeputy Leader of the Liberal Party
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History

The Liberal Party leadership was first held by Robert Menzies, a former leader of the United Australia Party and co–founder of the Liberal Party along with eighteen political organisations and groups.[3]

Following the ousting of two Liberal prime ministers in three years, the then leader, Scott Morrison, proposed a new threshold to trigger a Liberal Party leadership change if the party was in government, requiring two-thirds of the party room to vote to initiate a spill motion. The change was agreed to 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 those who led the party to victory at a federal election.[4]

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.
More information No., Leader (birth–death) ...
List of leaders (including acting leaders) since 1945[5]
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[a] (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)
 Kooyong, Vic. 11 March 1983
(elected)		 5 September 1985 1984
8 John Howard
(b. 1939)
 Bennelong, NSW 5 September 1985
(elected)		 9 May 1989 1987
(7) Andrew Peacock
(1939–2021)
 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)
 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)
 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)
 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)		 13 February 2026 None
17 Angus Taylor
(b. 1966)
Hume, NSW 13 February 2026
(elected)		 Incumbent None
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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.

More information Rank, No. ...
RankNo.LeaderTime in office
11stRobert Menzies20 years, 333 days
28thJohn Howard16 years, 184 days
36thMalcolm Fraser7 years, 355 days
413thTony Abbott5 years, 287 days
512thMalcolm Turnbull4 years, 59 days
69thJohn Hewson4 years, 50 days
714thScott Morrison3 years, 279 days
87thAndrew Peacock3 years, 142 days
93rdJohn Gorton3 years, 59 days
1015thPeter Dutton2 years, 338 days
115thBilly Snedden2 years, 91 days
122ndHarold Holt1 year, 333 days
134thWilliam McMahon1 year, 270 days
1411thBrendan Nelson292 days
1516thSussan Ley276 days
1610thAlexander Downer252 days
1717thAngus Taylor84 days[b]
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Federal deputy leaders

More information #, Name ...
#NameStateTerm startTerm endDurationLeader(s)
1Eric HarrisonNew South Wales21 February 194526 September 195611 years, 218 daysRobert Menzies
2Harold HoltVictoria26 September 195620 January 19669 years, 116 days
3William McMahonNew South Wales20 January 196610 March 19715 years, 49 daysHarold Holt
John Gorton
4John GortonVictoria10 March 197116 August 1971159 daysWilliam McMahon
5Billy SneddenVictoria18 August 197120 December 19721 year, 124 days
6Phillip LynchVictoria20 December 19728 April 19829 years, 109 daysBilly Snedden
Malcolm Fraser
7John HowardNew South Wales8 April 19825 September 19853 years, 150 daysMalcolm Fraser
Andrew Peacock
8Neil BrownVictoria5 September 198517 July 19871 year, 315 daysJohn Howard
9Andrew PeacockVictoria17 July 19879 May 19891 year, 296 days
10Fred Chaney[c]Western Australia9 May 19893 April 1990329 daysAndrew Peacock
11Peter ReithVictoria24 March 199013 March 19932 years, 354 daysJohn Hewson
12Michael WooldridgeVictoria13 March 199323 May 19941 year, 71 days
13Peter CostelloVictoria23 May 199429 November 200713 years, 190 daysAlexander Downer
John Howard
14Julie BishopWestern Australia29 November 200724 August 201810 years, 268 daysBrendan Nelson
Malcolm Turnbull
Tony Abbott
15Josh FrydenbergVictoria24 August 201830 May 20223 years, 279 daysScott Morrison
16Sussan LeyNew South Wales30 May 202213 May 20252 years, 348 daysPeter Dutton
Herself (acting)
17Ted O'BrienQueensland13 May 202513 February 2026276 daysSussan Ley
18 Jane Hume[d] Victoria 13 February 2026 Incumbent 84 days Angus Taylor
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Leaders in the Senate

More information Term began, Term ended ...
Leader Term began Term ended Portfolio[9] Status Parliamentary leader Term in office Deputy
Neil O'Sullivan21 February 1950[10]8 December 1958
Government Menzies 8 years, 290 days
Bill Spooner8 December 1958[11]2 June 1964[12]
5 years, 178 days Shane Paltridge
Shane Paltridge10 June 1964[13]19 January 1966[14] Defence 1 year, 230 days Denham Henty
Denham Henty26 January 1966[15]16 October 1967 Supply Holt 1 year, 263 days John Gorton
John Gorton16 October 19671 February 1968
108 days Denham Henty
None
Himself
Ken Anderson28 February 1968[e]5 December 1972
Gorton 4 years, 281 days
Annabelle Rankin
McMahon
Reg Wright
Reg Withers20 December 197211 November 1975OppositionSnedden5 years, 230 days
OppositionFraser
12 November 1975[17]7 August 1978[18]
Government
John Carrick7 August 1978[19]11 March 1983
4 years, 216 days
Fred Chaney11 March 1983[20]27 February 1990
 Opposition Peacock 6 years, 353 days
 Howard
  • Industrial Relations (1989-1990)
  • Deputy Leader of the Opposition (1989-1990)
 Peacock
Robert Hill 3 April 1990[21]11 March 1996
  • Foreign Affairs (1990-1993)[22]
  • Defence, Public Administration (1993-1994)
 Hewson 15 years, 292 days
Education, Science and Technology Downer
Howard
11 March 1996[23]20 January 2006
Government Howard Nick Minchin
Nick Minchin27 January 2006[24]3 December 2007
4 years, 96 days Helen Coonan
3 December 2007[25]3 May 2010
Defence Opposition Nelson Eric Abetz
Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Turnbull
Resources and Energy Abbott
Eric Abetz 3 May 2010[26][27]18 September 2013 Employment and Workplace Relations 2 years, 2 days George Brandis
18 September 2013[28][27]21 September 2015 Employment Government
George Brandis21 September 201520 December 2017 Attorney-General
V-P Exec. Council		 Turnbull 2 years, 90 days Mathias Cormann
Mathias Cormann20 December 201730 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 (to Apr 2023)
Attorney General (Apr 2023–May 2025)		 1 year, 103 days Anne Ruston
Foreign Affairs Ley
Attorney General Taylor
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See also

Notes

  1. [a]
    After the Disappearance of Harold Holt, the Deputy Prime Minister, McEwen, took over as a caretaker until the leadership election of the Liberal Party was concluded.
  2. [b]
    As of 8 May 2026
  3. [c]
    From 23 May 1989 to 24 March 1990 (305 days), Wal Fife occupied the unique position of "Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Representatives". This was because Fred Chaney was a member of the Senate during that time; it was necessary to elect a temporary House-only deputy for procedural reasons.[6][7]
  4. [d]
    The position of "Deputy Leader in the House of Representatives" is held by Andrew Hastie. As Hume is a member of the Senate, it was necessary to elect a House-only deputy for procedural reasons.[8] This is a similar instance to the position of "Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Representatives", used from 1989 to 1990.
  5. [e]
    Anderson was appointed Leader of the Government before the second session of the 26th Parliament,[16] and Gorton made his appointments on 28 February 1968.[9]
  6. [f]
    Withers was appointed Vice-President of the Executive Council the day after the Dismissal as part of Fraser's Caretaker Cabinet, but he continued in that office for his entire tenure as Leader of the Government. On the same date, he was appointed caretaker Minister for the Capital Territory, Special Minister of State, Minister for the Media, and Minister for Tourism and Recreation. He served in those offices until 22 December, when Fraser's first full Cabinet was sworn in. The Senate did not meet during the period 12 November to 22 December 1975 (indeed it was dissolved for most of that time). Withers gained the Administrative Services portfolio as part of the 22 December reshuffle.
  7. [g]
    Minister for Environment 1996–98.

References

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