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The prime minister of Australia is the leader of the Australian Government and the Cabinet of Australia, with the support of the majority of the House of Representatives.[1][2] Thirty-one people (thirty men and one woman) have served in the position since the office was created in 1901.[3] The role of prime minister is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia,[4] but the prime minister is still appointed by the governor-general who under Section 64 of the constitution has the executive power to appoint ministers of state. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch of Australia based on the advice of the incumbent prime minister.[2] Governors-general do not have fixed terms, but usually serve for five years.[5]
Federal elections must be held every three years, although prime ministers may call elections early.[6] Prime ministers do not have fixed terms, and generally serve the full length of their term unless they lose the majority of the House or are replaced as the leader of their party. Three former prime ministers lost a majority in the House (Alfred Deakin on two occasions, George Reid and Andrew Fisher), six resigned following leadership spills (John Gorton, Bob Hawke, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull) and three died in office (Joseph Lyons, John Curtin and Harold Holt, who disappeared and is presumed to have died).[7] Two prime ministers also lost their role in a double dissolution election, a snap election where the entire Senate stands for re-election rather than the typical half to resolve deadlocks between the two houses. These were Joseph Cook in 1914 and Malcolm Fraser in 1983. One prime minister, Gough Whitlam, was controversially dismissed by the governor-general during a constitutional crisis.[8]
Since the office was established in 1901, thirty men and one woman have been prime minister. Robert Menzies and Kevin Rudd served two non-consecutive terms in office while Alfred Deakin and Andrew Fisher served three non-consecutive terms.[9]
The prime ministership of Frank Forde, who was prime minister for seven days in 1945, was the shortest in Australian history.[10] Menzies served the longest, with eighteen years over two non-consecutive periods.[11]
The 31st and current prime minister is Anthony Albanese, who assumed office on 23 May 2022.[9] There are currently seven living former prime ministers. The most recent former prime minister to die was Hawke, on 16 May 2019.[12]
List of prime ministers
The parties shown are those to which the prime ministers belonged at the time they held office, and the electoral divisions shown are those they represented while in office. Several prime ministers belonged to parties other than those given and represented other electorates before and after their time in office.
Political parties
Status
Background indicates caretaker prime minister
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) Constituency |
Election (Parliament) |
Term of office | Political party |
Ministry | Monarch | Governor-General | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||||
| 1 | 
|
Edmund Barton (1849–1920) MP for Hunter, NSW |
1901 (1st) | 1 January 1901 |
24 September 1903 |
2 years, 266 days | Protectionist | Barton | Victoria | Lord Hopetoun | [13] |
| Edward VII | |||||||||||
| Lord Tennyson | |||||||||||
| 2 | 
|
Alfred Deakin (1856–1919) MP for Ballaarat, Vic[a] |
— (1st) | 24 September 1903 |
27 April 1904 |
216 days | Protectionist | 1st Deakin | [14] | ||
| 1903 (2nd) | |||||||||||
| Lord Northcote | |||||||||||
| 3 | 
|
Chris Watson (1867–1941) MP for Bland, NSW |
— (2nd) | 27 April 1904 |
18 August 1904 |
113 days | Labor | Watson | [15] | ||
| 4 | 
|
George Reid (1845–1918) MP for East Sydney, NSW |
— (2nd) | 18 August 1904 |
5 July 1905 |
321 days | Free Trade | Reid | [16] | ||
| (2) | 
|
Alfred Deakin (1856–1919) MP for Ballaarat, Vic[a] |
— (2nd) | 5 July 1905 |
13 November 1908 |
3 years, 131 days | Protectionist | 2nd Deakin | [14] | ||
| 1906 (3rd) | |||||||||||
| Lord Dudley | |||||||||||
| 5 | 
|
Andrew Fisher (1862–1928) MP for Wide Bay, Qld |
— (3rd) | 13 November 1908 |
2 June 1909 |
201 days | Labor | 1st Fisher | [17] | ||
| (2) | 
|
Alfred Deakin (1856–1919) MP for Ballaarat, Vic[a] |
— (3rd) | 2 June 1909 |
29 April 1910 |
331 days | Liberal | 3rd Deakin | [14] | ||
| (5) | .jpg)
|
Andrew Fisher (1862–1928) MP for Wide Bay, Qld |
1910 (4th) | 29 April 1910 |
24 June 1913 |
3 years, 56 days | Labor | 2nd Fisher | [17] | ||
| George V | |||||||||||
| Lord Denman | |||||||||||
| 6 | 
|
Joseph Cook (1860–1947) MP for Parramatta, NSW |
1913 (5th) | 24 June 1913 |
17 September 1914 |
1 year, 85 days | Liberal | Cook | [18] | ||
| Ronald Munro Ferguson | |||||||||||
| (5) | 
|
Andrew Fisher (1862–1928) MP for Wide Bay, Qld |
1914 (6th) | 17 September 1914 |
27 October 1915 |
1 year, 40 days | Labor | 3rd Fisher | [17] | ||
|
Billy Hughes (1862–1952) MP for West Sydney, NSW (until 1917) MP for Bendigo, Vic (1917–22) MP for North Sydney, NSW (from 1922) |
— (6th) | 27 October 1915 |
14 November 1916 |
7 years, 105 days | Labor | 1st Hughes | [19] | |||
| 7 | – (6th) | 14 November 1916 |
17 February 1917 |
National Labor | 2nd Hughes | ||||||
| – (6th) | 17 February 1917 |
9 February 1923 |
Nationalist | 3rd Hughes | |||||||
| 1917 (7th) | 4th Hughes | ||||||||||
| 1919 (8th) | 5th Hughes | ||||||||||
| Lord Forster | |||||||||||
| 8 | 
|
Stanley Bruce (1883–1967) MP for Flinders, Vic |
1922 (9th) | 9 February 1923 |
22 October 1929 |
6 years, 255 days | Nationalist (Coalition) |
1st Bruce | [20] | ||
| Lord Stonehaven | |||||||||||
| 1925 (10th) | 2nd Bruce | ||||||||||
| 1928 (11th) | 3rd Bruce | ||||||||||
| 9 | 
|
James Scullin (1876–1953) MP for Yarra, Vic |
1929 (12th) | 22 October 1929 |
6 January 1932 |
2 years, 76 days | Labor | Scullin | [21] | ||
| Sir Isaac Isaacs | |||||||||||
| 10 | 
|
Joseph Lyons (1879–1939) MP for Wilmot, Tas |
1931 (13th) | 6 January 1932 |
7 April 1939[b] |
7 years, 91 days | United Australia | 1st Lyons | [22] | ||
| 1934 (14th) | 2nd Lyons | ||||||||||
| — (14th) | United Australia (Coalition) |
3rd Lyons | |||||||||
| Edward VIII | |||||||||||
| Lord Gowrie | |||||||||||
| George VI | |||||||||||
| 1937 (15th) | 4th Lyons | ||||||||||
| 11 | 
|
Earle Page (1880–1961) MP for Cowper, NSW |
— (15th) | 7 April 1939 |
26 April 1939 |
19 days | Country (Coalition) |
Page (Caretaker) |
[23] | ||
| 12 | 
|
Robert Menzies (1894–1978) MP for Kooyong, Vic |
— (15th) | 26 April 1939 |
29 August 1941 |
2 years, 125 days | United Australia | 1st Menzies | [24] | ||
| United Australia (Coalition) |
2nd Menzies | ||||||||||
| 1940 (16th) | 3rd Menzies | ||||||||||
| 13 | 
|
Arthur Fadden (1894–1973) MP for Darling Downs, Qld |
— (16th) | 29 August 1941 |
7 October 1941 |
39 days | Country (Coalition) |
Fadden | [25] | ||
| 14 | 
|
John Curtin (1885–1945) MP for Fremantle, WA |
— | 7 October 1941 |
5 July 1945[c] |
3 years, 271 days | Labor | 1st Curtin | [26] | ||
| 1943 (17th) | 2nd Curtin | ||||||||||
| Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester | |||||||||||
| 15 | 
|
Frank Forde (1890–1983) MP for Capricornia, Qld |
— (17th) | 5 July 1945 |
13 July 1945 |
7 days | Labor | Forde (Caretaker) |
[27] | ||
| 16 | 
|
Ben Chifley (1885–1951) MP for Macquarie, NSW |
— (17th) | 13 July 1945 |
19 December 1949 |
4 years, 159 days | Labor | 1st Chifley | [28] | ||
| 1946 (18th) | 2nd Chifley | ||||||||||
| Sir William McKell | |||||||||||
| (12) | 
|
Robert Menzies (1894–1978) MP for Kooyong, Vic |
1949 (19th) | 19 December 1949 |
26 January 1966 |
16 years, 38 days | Liberal (Coalition) |
4th Menzies | [24] | ||
| 1951 (20th) | 5th Menzies | ||||||||||
| Elizabeth II | |||||||||||
| Sir William Slim | |||||||||||
| 1954 (21st) | 6th Menzies | ||||||||||
| 1955 (22nd) | 7th Menzies | ||||||||||
| 1958 (23rd) | 8th Menzies | ||||||||||
| Lord Dunrossil | |||||||||||
| Lord De L'Isle | |||||||||||
| 1961 (24th) | 9th Menzies | ||||||||||
| 1963 (25th) | 10th Menzies | ||||||||||
| Lord Casey | |||||||||||
| 17 | 
|
Harold Holt (1908–1967) MP for Higgins, Vic |
— (25th) | 26 January 1966 |
17 December 1967[d] |
1 year, 327 days | Liberal (Coalition) |
1st Holt | [29] | ||
| 1966 (26th) | 2nd Holt | ||||||||||