This page details numerous records and characteristics of individuals who have held the office of Prime Minister of Australia.
Sir Robert Menzies was the longest serving prime minister of Australia, serving for 18 years and 163 days total. His first tenure (1939–1941) lasted 2 years and 125 days and his second tenure (1949–1966) 16 years and 38 days. Menzies’ second term of over 16 years was the longest single term. This term is also longer than the accumulated period of terms of any other prime minister. The shortest serving prime minister was Frank Forde, who served in the position in an interim capacity for one week in July 1945 after the death of John Curtin. The prime minister with the longest time between the beginning of the first and end of the last terms was also Menzies, with over 25 years between those dates. [1]
If a “term” is defined as a contiguous period served as prime minister, both Alfred Deakin and Andrew Fisher served the greatest number of terms, with three each. Robert Menzies and Kevin Rudd both served two separate terms as prime ministers. If a “term” is defined as a period of office separated by an election, Robert Menzies served the most terms, winning eight terms.
The office of Prime Minister of Australia has existed under the reigns of seven monarchs since Federation in 1901.
Joseph Lyons is the only prime minister to have served under three monarchs during one term (Lyons died in 1939):
Through being in office at transitions between reigns, four prime ministers each served under two monarchs. These include:
Queen Elizabeth II had by far the greatest number of prime ministers serve her during her reign, being 16. In descending numerical order, numbers of prime ministers in office during all monarch's reigns are:
Only seven prime ministers came to serve office under sovereigns in whose own reigns they were born in. The present prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was the sixth prime minister to have been born in the reign of Elizabeth II.
Queen Victoria (reigned 1837–1901)
Queen Elizabeth II (reigned 1952–2022)
Morrison has the additional distinction of being younger than all of his monarch's children.
Billy Hughes (1862–1952), Stanley Bruce (1883–1967), James Scullin (1876–1953), Earle Page (1880–1961), Robert Menzies (1894–1978), Arthur Fadden (1894–1973), Frank Forde (1890–1983), and John McEwen (1900–1980) all lived under the reigns of six sovereigns: Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II.
Robert Menzies is the only prime minister to have served under six governors-general during his time in office (1939–1941, 1949–1966):
Two prime ministers each served under three governors-general. These include:
Lord Gowrie has the distinction of having the greatest number of prime ministers serve during his term, being 5:
Lord Casey follows with 4:
Six governors general each had three prime ministers serve during their term. These include:
The youngest prime minister upon appointment by the Governor-General was Chris Watson, who was 37 years, and 18 days old when his term began on 27 April 1904. [2] The oldest prime minister upon appointment was John McEwen, who was 67 years, and 265 days old when he took office in a temporary capacity on 17 December 1967.
The youngest prime minister to leave office was also Watson, who left office only four months after he was appointed at the age of 37 years, and 131 days. The oldest prime minister to leave office was Menzies, who was 71 years and 37 days old when he stepped down on 26 January 1966.
The largest age gap between an incoming prime minister and outgoing one was 22 years and 44 days between Chris Watson and George Reid during 1904. In recent years, the largest age gap between an incoming prime minister and outgoing one was 18 years and 57 days between John Howard and Kevin Rudd during 2007. The smallest age gap between an incoming prime minister and outgoing one was 27 days between Andrew Fisher and Billy Hughes during 1915. In recent years, the smallest age gap between an incoming prime minister and outgoing one was 44 days between Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott during 2013.
The longest-lived prime minister was Gough Whitlam, who lived for 98 years and 102 days (1916–2014)
The shortest-lived prime minister was Harold Holt, born 1908, who died in office at age 59 years and 134 days in 1967.
The longest period of retirement (retirement being the period between the end of their last term and their death) for a prime minister was Whitlam's, which was 38 years, 344 days long (1975–2014).
The shortest period of retirement was Ben Chifley, who died in 1951, 1 year and 176 days after he left office.
Of the prime ministers who have served more than one term, the largest interval was that of Menzies, which lasted 10 years from 1939 to 1949.
Of the 31 prime ministers, 24 have been born in Australia. Of the ones that were not born in Australia, six were born in the United Kingdom: [3]
Of the 24 prime ministers born within Australia:
Some prime ministers represented electorates in states other than they were born in.
There have been three periods between elections in which three prime ministers were in office.
The largest number of elections contested by a prime minister is nine. Menzies contested the 1940, 1946, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1961, and 1963 elections. The greatest number of elections won by a prime minister is eight, a record also held by Menzies, who won 8 of the 9 elections he contested. The greatest number of elections lost by an individual is three, George Reid, H. V. Evatt, Arthur Calwell, and Gough Whitlam all lost three federal elections.
The oldest prime minister to lose a federal election was John Howard, who lost his own seat and the election of 2007 at 68 years and 121 days old. The oldest person to lose a federal election was Arthur Calwell, who lost the election of 1966 at 70 years and 90 days old. The youngest prime minister to lose a federal election was Stanley Bruce, who was 46 years, and 180 days old when he lost the 1929 election. In recent years, the youngest prime minister to lose a federal election was Paul Keating, who was 52 years and 44 days old when he lost the 1996 election. The youngest person to lose a federal election was Chris Watson who was 36 years and 251 days old when he lost the 1903 election. The youngest person to lose a federal election without ever becoming prime minister was Mark Latham who was 43 years and 223 days old when he lost the 2004 election.
The oldest prime minister to lead a party to victory at a federal election was Robert Menzies, who won the 1963 election aged 68 years and 347 days. The oldest prime minister to lead a party to victory at a federal election for the first time was Malcolm Turnbull, who won the 2016 election aged 61 years and 251 days. The youngest prime minister to win an election was Stanley Bruce, who was 42 years, and 213 days old when he won the 1925 election. In recent years, the youngest prime minister to win an election was Julia Gillard, who was 48 years, and 326 days old when she won the 2010 election.
Nearly all (24) prime ministers of Australia have held the office at some point during their tenures without the mandates from an election. This is a common occurrence due to the parliamentary and party systems in Australia, when the position is often made vacant by a spill or leader who is resigning or retiring. In the early days of the office, the unstable non-majority party system also caused many changes in power. Prime ministers who have taken office due to inter-party confidence prior to the development of the stable two-party system:
Prime ministers who took office after their predecessors resigned:
Prime ministers who took office after their predecessors retired:
Prime ministers who took office after their predecessors died:
Prime ministers who took office after defeating the government in a vote of no confidence:
Prime ministers who took office after defeating their predecessors in a party spill:
Prime minister who took office after the incumbent government was dismissed by the Governor-General:
Only John Gorton has come from the Senate. He served as a senator for Victoria for 17 years before he contested and won Harold Holt’s seat of Higgins in the House of Representatives. [7]
The shortest interval between entering Parliament and being appointed prime minister was achieved by Bob Hawke, who entered Parliament in October 1980 and was appointed prime minister only 29 months later in March 1983. The longest period of service prior to becoming prime minister was that of John McEwen, who had served 33 years in the House of Representatives before he became prime minister in December 1967. For a non-interim prime minister, the longest period of prior service was 30 years by Harold Holt, who was elected in a by-election in August 1935 and became prime minister in January 1966. The longest service as an MP of a prime minister was Billy Hughes, who served from March 1901 until his death in October 1952, a total of 51 years. This is to date the longest period of service in the Australian Parliament and Hughes was father of the House from 1938 until 1952. The prime minister with the longest service in a single seat is 42 years by Earle Page, who served the seat of Cowper from December 1919 until December 1961. In recent years, the prime minister with the longest service in a single seat is 33 years by John Howard, who served the seat of Bennelong from May 1974 until December 2007.
Only one prime minister has held both that office and been Father of the House: John McEwen, from December 1967 until January 1968. Five prime ministers have served a long enough period in the House of Representatives to become Father of the House: [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] Italics indicate that a former or incumbent prime minister was a joint Father of the House.
Name | Entered House | Prime Minister | Became Father | Left House | Party | Constituency | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Billy Hughes | 1901 | 1915–1923 | 1938 | 1952 (died) | Liberal |
| |
Sir Earle Page | 1919 | 1939 | 1952 | 1961 (lost seat) | National | Cowper | |
Sir Robert Menzies | 1934 | 1939–1941, 1949–1966 | 1965 | 1966 (resigned) | Liberal | Kooyong | |
Sir John McEwen | 1967–1968 | 1965 | 1971 (resigned) | National | |||
Sir William McMahon | 1949 | 1971–1972 | 1981 | 1982 (resigned) | Liberal | Lowe | |
Malcolm Fraser | 1955 | 1975–1983 | 1982 | 1983 (resigned) | Liberal | Wannon |
As of 2024, all 31 prime ministers of Australia have been white European Australians. The vast majority of them have been Anglo-Celtic Australians, tracing their ancestry to England, Ireland, and/or Scotland. Additionally, Alfred Deakin and Billy Hughes had some Welsh ancestry. [13] Julia Gillard was born in Wales to Welsh parents, and is of almost exclusively Welsh descent.
Only four prime ministers are known to have been at least partly of non-Anglo-Celtic descent: Chris Watson, whose father was a German Chilean; [14] Harold Holt, whose maternal grandmother was German; Malcolm Fraser, whose maternal grandfather was a Jewish New Zealander; [15] and Anthony Albanese, whose father was Italian. [16] [17]
Most Australian prime ministers have been Christian. [18] [19]
Eight of the thirty-one prime ministers of Australia have served in the military. As of 2020, the last prime minister who had any military service was Gough Whitlam, who served as a pilot in the Air Force from 1941 to 1945, during World War II. Only Harold Holt has served in the military during his parliamentary career. He served in the Armed Forces from 1939 to 1940, when he was asked to return by Menzies due to low parliamentary numbers and difficulties.
As of 7 November 2024, there are seven living former Australian prime ministers. [65]
Three prime ministers have died in office:
Earle Page and Ben Chifley's successor, Robert Menzies, was in office when Chifley and Page died in 1951 and 1961 respectively.
The prime minister who had the most children is Joseph Lyons, who fathered 12 children.
The tallest prime minister is believed to be Gough Whitlam, who stood at around 6 feet 4 inches (194 cm) in height. [66]
The longest personal name held by an Australian prime minister was that of Earle Page whose four names – Earle Christmas Grafton Page – total 25 letters. The shortest baptismal names, each 10 letters long, were held by John Curtin and John McEwen.
The following prime ministers have had facial hair. Alfred Deakin, Chris Watson, George Reid, Andrew Fisher, Joseph Cook and Billy Hughes. Most prime ministers, when in office, have been predominantly clean-shaven men.
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known simply as Labor or the Labor Party, is the major centre-left political party in Australia and one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party has been in government since the 2022 federal election, and with political branches active in all the Australian states and territories, they currently hold government in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory. As of 2024, Queensland, Tasmania and Northern Territory are the only states or territories where Labor currently forms the opposition. It is the oldest continuous political party in Australian history, having been established on 8 May 1901 at Parliament House, Melbourne; the meeting place of the first Federal Parliament.
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsible government, the prime minister is both responsible to and a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. The current prime minister is Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party, who assumed the office on 23 May 2022.
Joseph Benedict Chifley was an Australian politician and train driver who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the treasurer of Australia under Prime Minister John Curtin and later himself from 1941 to 1949. He was notable for defining Australia's post-war reconstruction efforts.
Francis Michael Forde was an Australian politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Australia from 6 to 13 July 1945, in a caretaker capacity following the death of John Curtin. He was deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1932 to 1946 and is the shortest-serving prime minister in Australia's history.
Simon Findlay Crean was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 2001 to 2003. He represented the seat of Hotham in the House of Representatives from 1990 to 2013 and was a cabinet minister in the Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments.
The Lodge is the primary official residence of the prime minister of Australia. Located at 5 Adelaide Avenue in the Canberra suburb of Deakin, it is situated a short distance away from Parliament House. The Lodge is one of two official prime ministerial residences, the secondary official residence being Kirribilli House in Sydney. The building was completed in 1927 in the Georgian revival style, since then twenty-three people have served as prime minister, six of whom chose to live elsewhere either full- or part-time during their tenure, and two who chose to live at Kirribilli House.
The deputy prime minister of Australia is the deputy chief executive and the second highest ranking officer of the Australian Government. The office of deputy prime minister was officially created as a ministerial portfolio in 1968, although the title had been used informally for many years previously. The deputy prime minister is appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister. When Australia has a Labor government, the deputy leader of the parliamentary party holds the position of deputy prime minister. When Australia has a Coalition government, the Coalition Agreement mandates that all Coalition members support the leader of the Liberal Party becoming prime minister and the leader of the National Party becoming the deputy prime minister.
In Australian federal politics, the Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition, more commonly referred to as the Leader of the Opposition is an elected member of parliament (MP) in the Australian House of Representatives who leads the opposition. The Leader of the Opposition, by convention, is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government.
The spouse of the prime minister of Australia or partner of the prime minister of Australia is the host of The Lodge and Kirribilli House, usually the wife, husband or partner of the prime minister of Australia, concurrent with the tenure of the prime minister. Although there is no officially defined responsibilities for the role, the incumbent is generally a high-profile individual who is involved in the political and social life of Australia, assisting the prime minister with carrying out ceremonial duties as well as performing various other functions.
The history of Australia since 1945 has seen long periods of economic prosperity and the introduction of an expanded and multi-ethnic immigration program, which has coincided with moves away from Britain in political, social and cultural terms and towards increasing engagement with the United States and Asia.
The Prime Ministers Avenue is a collection of busts of the first twenty-nine prime ministers of Australia. They are lined along an avenue of horse chestnuts at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, bronze casts mounted on polished granite pedestals.
Several surveys of academics and the general public have been conducted to evaluate and rank the performance of the prime ministers of Australia.
The Chifley government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Ben Chifley. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1945 to 1949.
The Curtin government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Curtin. It was made up of members of the Australian Labor Party in the Australian Parliament from 1941 to 1945.
The history of the Australian Labor Party has its origins in the Labour parties founded in the 1890s in the Australian colonies prior to federation. Labor tradition ascribes the founding of Queensland Labour to a meeting of striking pastoral workers under a ghost gum tree in Barcaldine, Queensland in 1891. The Balmain, New South Wales branch of the party claims to be the oldest in Australia. Labour as a parliamentary party dates from 1891 in New South Wales and South Australia, 1893 in Queensland, and later in the other colonies.
Labour government or Labor government may refer to:
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Morrison is now a Pentecostal and thus part of the most rapidly growing denomination in the land. He worships at an American-style mega-church called Shirelive in his constituency, where the gospel of prosperity is preached in an auditorium that can accommodate over 1000 evangelicals. With its water baptisms and designer-shirt pastors, Shirelive has close ties with the better-known Hillsong community. The founder of Hillsong, Harley Davidson–riding pastor Brian Houston, is one of Morrison's mentors. In Who's Who Morrison lists the church as his number one hobby, and his maiden speech reads in part like a personal testimony delivered on the last night of a church retreat. It included passages from Jeremiah and also the Book of Joel: "Your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."