This is a list of prime ministers of Australia by time in office. The basis of the list is the inclusive number of days from being sworn in until leaving office, if counted by number of calendar days all the figures would be one greater.
Liberal Labor Country (National) United Australia Nationalist National Labor Commonwealth Liberal Free Trade Protectionist
Rank | No. | Prime Minister | Portrait | Party | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office (term) | Time in office (total) | Election wins | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 12th | Sir Robert Menzies (1894–1978) | United Australia | 26 April 1939 | 29 August 1941 | 2 years, 125 days | 18 years, 163 days | 1940, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1961, 1963 | [1] | ||
Liberal | 19 December 1949 | 26 January 1966 | 16 years, 38 days | ||||||||
2. | 25th | John Howard (born 1939) | Liberal | 11 March 1996 | 3 December 2007 | 11 years, 267 days | 1996, 1998, 2001, 2004 | [2] | |||
3. | 23rd | Bob Hawke (1929–2019) | Labor | 11 March 1983 | 20 December 1991 | 8 years, 284 days | 1983, 1984, 1987, 1990 | [3] | |||
4. | 22nd | Malcolm Fraser (1930–2015) | Liberal | 11 November 1975 | 11 March 1983 | 7 years, 120 days | 1975, 1977, 1980 | [4] | |||
5. | 7th | Billy Hughes (1862–1952) | Labor | 27 October 1915 | 9 February 1923 | 7 years, 105 days | 1917, 1919, 1922 | [5] | |||
National Labor | |||||||||||
Nationalist | |||||||||||
6. | 10th | Joseph Lyons (1879–1939) | United Australia | 6 January 1932 | 7 April 1939 | 7 years, 91 days | 1931, 1934, 1937 | [6] | |||
7. | 8th | Stanley Bruce (1883–1967) | Nationalist | 9 February 1923 | 22 October 1929 | 6 years, 255 days | 1925, 1928 | [7] | |||
8. | 2nd | Alfred Deakin (1856–1919) | Protectionist | 24 September 1903 | 27 April 1904 | 216 days | 4 years, 313 days | 1903, 1906 | [8] | ||
5 July 1905 | 13 November 1908 | 3 years, 131 days | |||||||||
Commonwealth Liberal | 2 June 1909 | 29 April 1910 | 331 days | ||||||||
9. | 5th | Andrew Fisher (1862–1928) | Labor | 13 November 1908 | 2 June 1909 | 201 days | 4 years, 297 days | 1910, 1914 | [9] | ||
29 April 1910 | 24 June 1913 | 3 years, 56 days | |||||||||
17 September 1914 | 27 October 1915 | 1 year, 40 days | |||||||||
10. | 16th | Ben Chifley (1885–1951) | Labor | 13 July 1945 | 19 December 1949 | 4 years, 159 days | 1946 | [10] | |||
11. | 24th | Paul Keating (born 1944) | Labor | 20 December 1991 | 11 March 1996 | 4 years, 82 days | 1993 | [11] | |||
12. | 30th | Scott Morrison (born 1968) | Liberal | 24 August 2018 | 23 May 2022 | 3 years, 272 days | 2019 | [12] | |||
13. | 14th | John Curtin (1885–1945) | Labor | 7 October 1941 | 5 July 1945 | 3 years, 271 days | 1943 | [13] | |||
14. | 19th | John Gorton (1911–2002) | Liberal | 10 January 1968 | 10 March 1971 | 3 years, 59 days | 1969 | [14] | |||
15. | 27th | Julia Gillard (born 1961) | Labor | 24 June 2010 | 27 June 2013 | 3 years, 3 days | 2010 | [15] | |||
16. | 29th | Malcolm Turnbull (born 1954) | Liberal | 15 September 2015 | 24 August 2018 | 2 years, 343 days | 2016 | [16] | |||
17. | 21st | Gough Whitlam (1916–2014) | Labor | 5 December 1972 | 11 November 1975 | 2 years, 341 days | 1972, 1974 | [17] | |||
18. | 26th | Kevin Rudd (born 1957) | Labor | 3 December 2007 | 24 June 2010 | 2 years, 203 days | 2 years, 286 days | 2007 | [18] | ||
27 June 2013 | 18 September 2013 | 83 days | |||||||||
19. | 1st | Sir Edmund Barton (1849–1920) | Protectionist | 1 January 1901 | 24 September 1903 | 2 years, 266 days | 1901 | [19] | |||
20. | 31st | Anthony Albanese (born 1963) | Labor | 23 May 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 91 days [lower-alpha 1] | 2022 | [20] | |||
21. | 9th | James Scullin (1876–1953) | Labor | 22 October 1929 | 6 January 1932 | 2 years, 76 days | 1929 | [21] | |||
22. | 28th | Tony Abbott (born 1957) | Liberal | 18 September 2013 | 15 September 2015 | 1 year, 362 days | 2013 | [22] | |||
23. | 17th | Harold Holt (1908–1967) | Liberal | 26 January 1966 | 19 December 1967 | 1 year, 327 days | 1966 | [23] | |||
24. | 20th | William McMahon (1908–1988) | Liberal | 10 March 1971 | 5 December 1972 | 1 year, 270 days | — | [24] | |||
25. | 6th | Joseph Cook (1860–1947) | Commonwealth Liberal | 24 June 1913 | 17 September 1914 | 1 year, 85 days | 1913 | [25] | |||
26. | 4th | George Reid (1845–1918) | Free Trade | 18 August 1904 | 5 July 1905 | 321 days | — | [26] | |||
27. | 3rd | Chris Watson (1867–1941) | Labor | 27 April 1904 | 18 August 1904 | 113 days | — | [27] | |||
28. | 13th | Arthur Fadden (1894–1973) | Country | 29 August 1941 | 7 October 1941 | 39 days | — | [28] | |||
29. | 18th | John McEwen (1900–1980) | Country | 19 December 1967 | 10 January 1968 | 22 days | — | [29] | |||
30. | 11th | Sir Earle Page (1880–1961) | Country | 7 April 1939 | 26 April 1939 | 19 days | — | [30] | |||
31. | 15th | Frank Forde (1890–1983) | Labor | 6 July 1945 | 13 July 1945 | 7 days | — | [31] |
Rank | Party | Time in office (Days) | # | Prime Minister(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Liberal Party of Australia | 18504 | 9 | Tony Abbott, John Gorton, Malcolm Fraser, Harold Holt, John Howard, William McMahon, Robert Menzies (1949–1966), Scott Morrison, and Malcolm Turnbull | |
2. | Australian Labor Party | 14443 [lower-alpha 1] | 13 | Anthony Albanese (incumbent), Ben Chifley, John Curtin, Andrew Fisher, Frank Forde, Julia Gillard, Bob Hawke, Billy Hughes (1915–1916), Paul Keating, Kevin Rudd, James Scullin, Chris Watson, and Gough Whitlam | |
3. | Nationalist Party | 5142 | 2 | Stanley Bruce, and Billy Hughes (1917–1923) | |
4. | United Australia Party | 3505 | 2 | Joseph Lyons, and Robert Menzies (1939–1941) | |
5. | Protectionist Party | 2442 | 2 | Edmund Barton, and Alfred Deakin (1903–1904 and 1905–1908) | |
6. | Fusion Liberal Party | 783 | 2 | Joseph Cook, and Alfred Deakin (1909–1910) | |
7. | Free Trade Party | 322 | 1 | George Reid | |
8. | Country Party | 84 | 3 | Arthur Fadden, John McEwen, and Earle Page |
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Sir Robert Gordon Menzies was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th prime minister of Australia from 1939 to 1941 and 1949 to 1966. He held office as the leader of the United Australia Party (UAP) in his first term, and subsequently as the inaugural leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, which he was responsible for establishing and defining in policy and political outreach. He is the longest-serving prime minister in Australian history.
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This page details numerous records and characteristics of individuals who have held the office of Prime Minister of Australia.