Liberal Party (Australia)

The Liberal Party of Australia (Liberals, or LIB for short), in coalition with the National Party of Australia (Nationals, or NAT for short), is a centre right party that is one of the two main political groups in Australian politics (the other being the Social Democratic Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberals/Nationals are the more conservative  of the two main parties. It was founded by Sir Robert Menzies in 1944. They lost government to the ALP in the Australian federal election held on 24 November 2007. This was after 11 years in government under the previous Liberal leader, John Howard.

The Liberal/National coalition were in control in the Federal Parliament of Australia after beating the ALP during an election on 7 September 2013. They lost control after losing many seats in the 2022 election.

The current party leader is Angus Taylor since 13 February 2026.

Liberal Prime Ministers of Australia
100px|thumb|Sir John Gorton
100px|thumb|Malcolm Fraser
100px|thumb|Tony Abbott
 Robert Menzies – from 1949 until his resignation in 1966.
 Harold Holt – from 1966 until his death in 1967.
 John Gorton – from 1968 until his resignation 1971.
 William McMahon – from 1971 until his loss to Gough Whitlam (ALP) in the 1972 election.
 Malcolm Fraser – from his appointment following the Dismissal of Gough Whitlam in 1975 until his defeat by Bob Hawke (ALP) in 1983.
 John Howard – from his victory over Paul Keating in 1996 to his defeat by Kevin Rudd (ALP) in 2007.
 Tony Abbott – from his victory over Kevin Rudd in 2013.
 Malcolm Turnbull – from replacing Abbott on 14 September 2015 to his resignation on 24 August 2018.
 Scott Morrison – from replacing Turnbull as leader of the Liberal Party on 24 August 2018.

Federal Parliamentary Leaders of the Liberal Party of Australia
 Sir Robert Menzies, February 1945 to 26 January 1966
 Harold Holt, 26 January 1966 to 19 December 1967
 Sir John Gorton, 10 January 1968 to 10 March 1971
 Sir William McMahon, 10 March 1971 to 5 December 1972
 Sir Billy Snedden, December 1972 to March 1975
 Malcolm Fraser, March 1975 to 11 March 1983
 Andrew Peacock, March 1983 to September 1985
 John Howard, September 1985 to May 1989
 Andrew Peacock, May 1989 to March 1990
 John Hewson, April 1990 to May 1994
 Alexander Downer, May 1994 to January 1995
 John Howard, 30 January 1995 to 27 November 2007
 Brendan Nelson, 29 November 2007 to 16 September 2008
 Malcolm Turnbull, 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009
 Tony Abbott, 1 December 2009 to 14 September 2015
 Malcolm Turnbull, 14 September 2015 to 24 August 2018
 Scott Morrison, 24 August 2018 to 30 May 2022
 Peter Dutton, 30 May 2022 to 3 May 2025
 Sussan Ley, 13 May 2025 to 13 February 2026
 Angus Taylor, since 13 February 2026

Current Liberal leaders of States and Territories

 Chief Minister of the Northern Territory: Lia Finocchiaro³, since 2024.
 Premier of Tasmania: Jeremy Rockliff, since 2022.
 Premier of Queensland: David Crisafulli, since 2024.
²In Queensland the Liberal and National parties merged into the Liberal National Party of Queensland. ³In the Northern Territory the party is called the Country Liberal Party.

Other notable Liberals
 Enid Lyons – first woman to be elected to the Australian House of Representatives (for the UAP), then served as a Liberal from 1944 to 1951 and was appointed by Robert Menzies as the first woman to sit in the Australian Cabinet.
 Neville Bonner as Senator for Queensland, he became the first Indigenous Australian to sit in the Federal Parliament.
 Nick Greiner – Premier of New South Wales, 1988–1992.
 Jeff Kennett – Premier of Victoria, 1992–1999.
 Kate Carnell – Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, 1995–2000, and first Liberal woman to lead a state or territory.
 Peter Costello – Australia's longest serving Treasurer (1996–2007).
 Alexander Downer – Australia's longest serving Minister for Foreign Affairs (1996–2007).
 Ken Wyatt – first Aboriginal member of the Australian House of Representatives (2010–2022)

Notes

References


Category:1945 establishments
Category:1940s establishments in Australia
Category:Conservative parties