The first Prime Minister of Australia, Edmund Barton (sitting second from left), with his Cabinet, 1901
The office of Prime Minister is in practice the most powerful political office in the Commonwealth of Australia.
By convention, the Prime Minister is the leader of the party or coalition which has the most seats in the lower house of the Federal Parliament, the House of Representatives. In times of constitutional crisis, however, this convention can be broken if necessary; this has occurred twice. At the time of Federation, no parliament had yet been established, so Edmund Barton was temporarily appointed as Prime Minister until elections were held. More controversially, during the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975, Malcolm Fraser was appointed to replace Gough Whitlam.
The formal holder of executive power in the Commonwealth is the Governor-General. However, by convention the Governor-General can only act on the Prime Minister's advice. The Governor-General appoints and can dismiss the Prime Minister and the other ministers, though his power to do so is heavily circumscribed by convention.
The office of Prime Minister is nowhere mentioned in the Australian Constitution, although it does provide for the Governor-General to be advised by ministers. However, since the framers of the Australian constitution from the beginning intended it to largely follow the Westminster system, the office of Prime Minister has existed since the inauguration of the Commonwealth.
The Prime Minister chairs the Cabinet, a council of ministers where executive decision-making occurs. Like the Prime Minister, the Cabinet is nowhere explicitly provided for in the Australian Constitution. The intention nonetheless was for it always to exist, again following the Westminster model.
The current (25th) Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard (sitting, fifth from left), with his Cabinet, 1999
The Australian Constitution does explicitly provide for the Executive Council, which is composed of the Governor-General and the Ministers. (Former Ministers are also technically members, although only current members are invited to attend its meetings.) The Executive Council makes no real decisions, serving mainly to give formal approval to decisions of Cabinet. This separation between the Executive Council and the Cabinet is similar to that existing between the Privy Council and Cabinet in the United Kingdom, or between the Canadian Privy Council and the Cabinet in Canada.
The power of the Prime Minister is subject to a number of limitations. A Prime Minister may be removed as leader of his party and thus lose the support of the lower house. If this occurs, he must resign the office or be dismissed by the Governor-General. The Prime Minister must receive the support of both houses of Parliament to pass any legislation (though secondary legislation, called Regulations, can be made by ministerial decree). While the Prime Minister normally will have a majority in the House of Representatives, attaining the support of the Senate can be more difficult, since there the Government will often be in a minority.
So, while the Prime Minister's formal powers are minimal, his practical powers as chief spokesperson for the government and leader of the strongest party in parliament in the relatively rigid Australian party system are very considerable.
The Prime Minister's official residence is The Lodge in Canberra.
List of Prime Ministers of Australia
The parties shown are those to which the Prime Ministers belonged at the time they held office, and the electorates shown are those they represented at the time they held office. Several Prime Ministers belonged to other parties and represented other electorates before and after their Prime Ministerships.
Note: the Electoral Division of Ballaarat was spelled with a double A until 1977.
No |
Name |
Born |
First
elected |
Party |
Electorate |
Assumed
office |
Left
office |
Left
Parliament |
Died |
1 |
Edmund Barton
|
18 January 1849
|
29 March 1901
|
Protectionist
|
Hunter, NSW |
1 January 1901
|
24 September 1903
|
resigned
30 September 1903
|
7 January 1920
|
2 |
Alfred Deakin
|
3 August 1856
|
29 March 1901
|
Protectionist
|
Ballaarat, Vic |
24 September 1903
|
27 April 1904
|
(see below) |
(see below) |
3 |
Chris Watson
|
9 April 1867
|
29 March 1901
|
Labor
|
Bland, NSW |
27 April 1904
|
18 August 1904
|
retired
19 February 1910
|
11 November 1941
|
4 |
Sir George Reid
|
25 February 1845
|
29 March 1901
|
Free Trade
|
East Sydney, NSW |
18 August 1904
|
5 July 1905
|
resigned
24 November 1909
|
13 September 1918
|
- |
Alfred Deakin
|
(see above) |
(see above) |
(see above) |
(see above) |
5 July 1905
|
13 November 1908
|
(see below) |
(see below) |
5 |
Andrew Fisher
|
29 August 1862
|
29 March 1901
|
Labor
|
Wide Bay, Qld |
13 November 1908
|
2 June 1909
|
(see below) |
(see below) |
- |
Alfred Deakin
|
(see above) |
(see above) |
Comwlth Liberal
|
(see above) |
2 June 1909
|
29 April 1910
|
retired
23 April 1913
|
7 October 1919
|
- |
Andrew Fisher
|
(see above) |
(see above) |
(see above) |
(see above) |
29 April 1910
|
24 June 1913
|
(see below) |
(see below) |
6 |
Joseph Cook
|
7 December 1860
|
29 March 1901
|
Comwlth Liberal
|
Parramatta, NSW |
24 June 1913
|
17 September 1914
|
resigned
11 November 1921
|
30 July 1947
|
- |
Andrew Fisher
|
(see above) |
(see above) |
(see above) |
(see above) |
17 September 1914
|
27 October 1915
|
resigned
26 October 1915
|
22 October 1928
|
7 |
Billy Hughes
|
25 September 1862
|
29 March 1901
|
Labor
|
West Sydney, NSW |
27 October 1915
|
14 November 1916
|
(see below) |
(see below) |
- |
Billy Hughes
|
(see above) |
(see above) |
National Labor |
(see above) |
14 November 1916
|
17 February 1917
|
(see below) |
(see below) |
- |
Billy Hughes
|
(see above) |
(see above) |
Nationalist
|
Bendigo, Vic |
17 February 1917
|
9 February 1923
|
died
28 October 1952
|
28 October 1952
|
8 |
Stanley Bruce
|
15 April 1883
|
11 May 1918
|
Nationalist
|
Flinders, Vic |
9 February 1923
|
22 October 1929
|
resigned
6 October 1933
|
25 August 1967
|
9 |
James Scullin
|
18 September 1876
|
13 April 1910
|
Labor
|
Yarra, Vic |
22 October 1929
|
6 January 1932
|
retired
31 October 1949
|
28 January 1953
|
10 |
Joseph Lyons
|
15 September 1879
|
12 October 1929
|
United Australia
|
Wilmot, Tas |
6 January 1932
|
7 April 1939
|
died
7 April 1939
|
7 April 1939
|
11 |
Sir Earle Page
|
8 August 1880
|
12 December 1919
|
Country
|
Cowper, NSW |
7 April 1939
|
26 April 1939
|
defeated
9 December 1961
|
20 December 1961
|
12 |
Robert Menzies
|
20 December 1894
|
15 September 1934
|
United Australia
|
Kooyong, Vic |
26 April 1939
|
28 August 1941
|
(see below) |
(see below) |
13 |
Arthur Fadden
|
13 April 1895
|
19 December 1936
|
Country
|
Darling Downs, Qld |
28 August 1941
|
7 October 1941
|
retired
14 October 1958
|
21 April 1973
|
14 |
John Curtin
|
8 January 1885
|
17 November 1928
|
Labor
|
Fremantle, WA |
7 October 1941
|
5 July 1945
|
died
5 July 1945
|
5 July 1945
|
15 |
Frank Forde
|
18 July 1890
|
16 December 1922
|
Labor
|
Capricornia, Qld |
6 July 1945
|
13 July 1945
|
defeated
28 September 1946
|
28 January 1983
|
16 |
Ben Chifley
|
22 September 1885
|
17 November 1928
|
Labor
|
Macquarie, NSW |
13 July 1945
|
19 December 1949
|
died
13 June 1951
|
13 June 1951
|
- |
Sir Robert Menzies
|
(see above) |
(see above) |
Liberal
|
(see above) |
19 December 1949
|
26 January 1966
|
resigned
17 February 1966
|
15 May 1978
|
17 |
Harold Holt
|
5 August 1908
|
17 August 1935
|
Liberal
|
Higgins, Vic |
26 January 1966
|
19 December 1967
|
presumed
dead
19 December 1967
|
19 December 1967
|
18 |
John McEwen
|
29 March 1900
|
15 September 1934
|
Country
|
Murray, Vic |
19 December 1967
|
10 January 1968
|
resigned
1 February 1971
|
20 November 1980
|
19 |
John Gorton
|
9 September 1911
|
22 February 1950
|
Liberal
|
Higgins, Vic |
10 January 1968
|
10 March 1971
|
retired
11 November 1975
|
19 May 2002
|
20 |
William McMahon
|
23 February 1908
|
10 December 1949
|
Liberal
|
Lowe, NSW |
10 March 1971
|
5 December 1972
|
resigned
4 January 1982
|
31 March 1988
|
21 |
Gough Whitlam
|
11 July 1916
|
29 November 1952
|
Labor
|
Werriwa, NSW |
5 December 1972
|
11 November 1975
|
dismissed
31 July 1978
|
- |
22 |
Malcolm Fraser
|
21 May 1930
|
10 December 1955
|
Liberal
|
Wannon, Vic |
11 November 1975
|
11 March 1983
|
resigned
31 March 1983
|
- |
23 |
Bob Hawke
|
9 December 1929
|
18 October 1980
|
Labor
|
Wills, Vic |
11 March 1983
|
20 December 1991
|
resigned
20 February 1992
|
- |
24 |
Paul Keating
|
18 January 1944
|
25 October 1969
|
Labor
|
Blaxland, NSW |
20 December 1991
|
11 March 1996
|
resigned
23 April 1996
|
- |
25 |
John Howard
|
26 July 1939
|
18 May 1974
|
Liberal
|
Bennelong, NSW |
11 March 1996
|
- |
- |
- |
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Last updated: 11-06-2004 12:33:02