Prime Ministers of Australia since 1901.
Australia became an independent nation on 1 January 1901 when the British Parliament passed legislation allowing the six Australian colonies to govern in their own right as part of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Australia operates under a federal system where powers are divided between a central government, with a Prime Minister and several regional governments, each with a State Premier.
Australia’s first Prime Minister was Edmund Barton, who had been a member of the New South Wales Parliament for 20 years, and had been working on Federation for ten years.
Most Prime Minister’s in recent years have been either the leader of the ALP (Australian Labor Party) or the Liberal Party.
The Australian Prime Ministers.
- Edmund Barton – 1st Jan 1901 to 24th Sep 1903 – Protectionist
- Alfred Deakin – 24th Sep 1903 to 27th Apr 1904 – Protectionist
- John Watson – 27th Apr 1904 to 17th Aug 1904 – ALP
- George Reid – 18th Aug 1904 to 5th Jul 1905 – Free Trade
- Alfred Deakin – 5th Jul 1905 to 13th Nov 1908 – Protectionist
- Andrew Fisher – 13th Nov 1908 to 2nd June 1909 – ALP
- Alfred Deakin – 2nd Jun 1909 to 29th Apr 1910 – Fusion
- Andrew Fisher – 29th Apr 1910 to 24th Jun 1913 – ALP
- Joseph Cook – 24th Jun 1913 to 17th Sep 1914 – Liberal
- Andrew Fisher – 17th Sep 1914 to 27th Oct 1915 – ALP
- William Hughes – 27th Oct 1915 to 9th Feb 1923 – ALP
- Stanley Bruce – 9th Feb 1923 to 22nd Oct 1929 – Nationalist-Country
- James Scullin – 22nd Oct 1929 to 6th Jan 1932 – ALP
- Joseph Lyons – 6th Jan 1932 to 7th Apr 1939 – United Australia Party
- Earle Page – 7th Apr 1939 to 26th Apr 1939 – United Australia Party
- Robert Menzies – 26th Apr 1939 to 29th Aug 1941 – United Australia Party
- Arthur Fadden – 29th Aug 1941 to 7th Oct 1941 – Country Party
- John Curtin – 7th Oct 1941 to 5th July 1945 – ALP
- Francis Forde – 6th Jul 1945 to 13th July 1945 – ALP
- Ben Chifley – 13th July 1945 to 19th Dec 1949 – ALP
- Robert Menzies – 19th Dec 1949 to 26th Jan 1966 – Liberal
- Harold Holt – 26th Jan 1966 to 19th Dec 1967 – Liberal
- John McEwen – 19th Dec 1967 to 10th Jan 1968 – Liberal
- John Gorton – 10th Jan 1968 to 10th Mar 1971 – Liberal
- William McMahon – 10th Mar 1971 to 5th Dec 1972 – Liberal
- Gough Whitlam – 5th Dec 1972 to 11th Nov 1975 – ALP
- Malcolm Fraser – 11th Nov 1975 to 11th Mar 1983 – Liberal
- Bob Hawke – 11 Mar 1983 to 20 Dec 1991 – ALP
- Paul Keating – 20 Dec 1991 to 11th Mar 1996 – ALP
- John Howard – 11th Mar 1996 to 23rd Nov 2007 – Liberal
- Kevin Rudd – 23rd Nov 2007 to 24th June 2010 – ALP
- Julia Gillard – 24th June 2010 to 26th June 2013 – ALP
- Kevin Rudd – 26th June 2013 to 18th September 2013 – ALP
- Tony Abbott – 18th September 2013 to 15th September 2015 Liberal
- Malcolm Turnbull – 15th September 2015 to 24 August 2018 Liberal
- Scott Morrison – 24 August 2018 to 23 May 2022 Liberal
- Anthony Albanese – 23 May 2022 to …………… ALP
Prime Ministers of Australia 1975 to 2018.
- Malcolm Fraser – served as PM for 7 years and 122 days
- Bob Hawke – served as PM for 8 years and 286 days
- Paul Keating – served as PM for 4 years and 83 days
- John Howard – served as PM for 11 years and 259 days
- Kevin Rudd – served as PM for 2 years and 298 days
- Julia Gillard – served as PM for 3 years and 3 days
- Tony Abbott – served as PM for 1 years and 362 days
- Malcolm Turnbull – served as PM for 2 years and 344 days
- Scott Morrison – 24 August 2018 to ……………
Section 28 of the Australian Constitution states that House of Representatives elections must be held at least every three years. This provides an opportunity to change Prime Minister every three years.
Each political party however, can change their leader at any time they wish, and if that party is the ruling party, that means the Prime Minister would change also, to the new Party leader.