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Leaders of the Australian Labor Party

The leader of the Australian Labor Party is the highest political office within the federal Australian Labor Party (ALP). Leaders of the party are chosen from among the sitting members of the parliamentary caucus either by members alone or with a vote of the party’s rank-and-file membership. The current leader of the Labor Party, since 2019, is Anthony Albanese, who has served as the prime minister of Australia since 2022.[1] There have been 21 leaders since 1901 when Chris Watson was elected as the inaugural leader following the first federal election.

Leader of the Australian Labor Party
since 30 May 2019
Member of
Term lengthNo fixed term
Inaugural holderChris Watson
Formation20 May 1901; 123 years ago (1901-05-20)
DeputyRichard Marles
WebsiteAnthony Albanese, Leader of the Australian Labor Party

Every Australian state and territory has its own branch of the Australian Labor Party, which has its own leader elected from the party members of that jurisdiction.

Background

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The federal Labor Caucus comprising the elected members of the Labor party in both Houses of the national Parliament is involved in the election of the federal parliamentary leaders from among its members. The leader has historically been a member of the House of Representatives. Caucus also has the power to dismiss a party leader in a process called a leadership spill. Until 2013, a spill vote could be called at any time and a simple majority of votes in Caucus was sufficient to remove a leader. Following the return of Kevin Rudd to the leadership of the ALP in 2013, he sought changes to the party's rules so that leadership spills would be more difficult to launch in future, including a requirement for 75% majority in Caucus for a leadership spill against a sitting Labor prime minister, or 60% against an opposition leader.[2] The changes also provided for equally weighted voting rights between Caucus and party rank and file members. These changes were adopted by Caucus in July 2013, which was not a change to the party's constitution[3] (and theoretically can be reverted by a simple majority in Caucus). At the October 2013 leadership spill Bill Shorten was the first leader elected under the new rules. Shorten received 55-43 votes in Caucus, which was sufficient to overcome his 40% support among party members.[4]

When the Labor Party is in government, the party leader becomes the Prime Minister and the deputy leader becomes the Deputy Prime Minister. If a Labor prime minister resigns or dies in office, the deputy leader becomes party leader and is sworn in as prime minister on an interim basis until a party successor is elected. This was the case upon the death in office of John Curtin on 5 July 1945. Frank Forde, the deputy party leader, was sworn in as interim prime minister until Ben Chifley was elected by Caucus as party leader on 13 July. If the leader is out of the country or is on leave, the deputy leader acts as party leader and prime minister, without being sworn into the office.

According to recent convention, the leader and deputy leader must be from different factions and from different states.[5] The leadership and deputy leadership have also been gender-balanced.

Federal leadership

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Leader

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The federal Leaders of the Australian Labor Party have been as follows (acting leaders indicated in italics):

# Leader
(birth–death) 		Electorate Term start Term end Time in office Prime Minister (term)
1   Chris Watson
(1876–1953) 		Bland
(1901–1906);
South Sydney
(1906–1910) 		20 May 1901 30 October 1907 6 years, 163 days Barton 1901–1903
Deakin 1903–1904
Himself 1904
Reid 1904–1905
Deakin 1905–1908
2   Andrew Fisher
(1862–1928) 		Wide Bay 30 October 1907 27 October 1915 7 years, 362 days
Himself 1908–1909
Deakin 1909–1910
Himself 1910–1913
Cook 1913–1914
Himself 1914–1915
3   Billy Hughes
(1862–1952) 		West Sydney 27 October 1915 14 November 1916 1 year, 18 days Himself 1915–1916
4   Frank Tudor
(1866–1922) 		Yarra 14 November 1916 10 January 1922† 5 years, 57 days Hughes 1916–1917
Hughes 1917–1923
5   Matthew Charlton
(1866–1948) 		Hunter 16 January 1922 16 May 1922 111 days
16 May 1922 29 March 1928 5 years, 318 days
Bruce 1923–1929
6   James Scullin
(1876–1953) 		Yarra 26 April 1928 1 October 1935 7 years, 128 days
Himself 1929–1932
Lyons 1932–1939
7   John Curtin
(1885–1945) 		Fremantle 1 October 1935 5 July 1945† 9 years, 277 days
Page 1939
Menzies 1939–1941
Fadden 1941
Himself 1941–1945
–[6]   Frank Forde
(1890–1983) 		Capricornia 6 July 1945 13 July 1945 7 days Himself 1945
8   Ben Chifley
(1885–1951) 		Macquarie 13 July 1945 13 June 1951† 5 years, 335 days Himself 1945–1949
Menzies 1949–1966
9   H. V. Evatt
(1894–1965) 		Barton
(1940–1958);
Hunter
(1958–1960) 		20 June 1951 9 February 1960 8 years, 241 days
10   Arthur Calwell
(1896–1973) 		Melbourne 7 March 1960 8 February 1967 6 years, 338 days
Holt 1966–1967
11   Gough Whitlam
(1916–2014) 		Werriwa 9 February 1967 22 December 1977 10 years, 316 days
McEwen 1967–1968
Gorton 1968–1971
McMahon 1971–1972
Himself 1972–1975
Fraser 1975–1983
12   Bill Hayden
(1933-2023) 		Oxley 22 December 1977 8 February 1983 5 years, 48 days
13   Bob Hawke
(1929–2019) 		Wills 8 February 1983 19 December 1991 8 years, 314 days
Himself 1983–1991
14   Paul Keating
(b. 1944) 		Blaxland 19 December 1991 19 March 1996 4 years, 91 days Himself 1991–1996
15   Kim Beazley
(b. 1948) 		Brand 19 March 1996 22 November 2001 5 years, 248 days Howard 1996–2007
16   Simon Crean
(1949–2023) 		Hotham 22 November 2001 2 December 2003 2 years, 10 days
17   Mark Latham
(b. 1961) 		Werriwa 2 December 2003 18 January 2005 1 year, 47 days
(15)   Kim Beazley
(b. 1948) 		Brand 18 January 2005 4 December 2006 1 year, 320 days
18   Kevin Rudd
(b. 1957) 		Griffith 4 December 2006 24 June 2010 3 years, 202 days
Himself 2007–2010
19   Julia Gillard
(b. 1961) 		Lalor 24 June 2010 26 June 2013 3 years, 2 days Herself 2010–2013
(18)   Kevin Rudd
(b. 1957) 		Griffith 26 June 2013 13 September 2013 79 days Himself 2013
–   Chris Bowen
(b. 1973) 		McMahon 18 September 2013 13 October 2013 25 days Abbott 2013–2015
20   Bill Shorten
(b. 1967) 		Maribyrnong 13 October 2013 30 May 2019 5 years, 229 days
Turnbull 2015–2018
Morrison 2018–2022
21   Anthony Albanese
(b. 1963) 		Grayndler 30 May 2019 Incumbent 5 years, 173 days
Himself 2022–present

Deputy Leader

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Shown in chronological order of leadership
# Deputy Leader Term start Term end Time in office Leader
1   Gregor McGregor 20 May 1901 30 July 1914 13 years, 71 days Chris Watson
Andrew Fisher
2   Billy Hughes 18 September 1914 27 October 1915 1 year, 39 days
3   George Pearce 27 October 1915 14 November 1916 1 year, 18 days Billy Hughes
4   Albert Gardiner[a] 14 November 1916 30 June 1926 9 years, 228 days Frank Tudor
Matthew Charlton
5   James Scullin 17 March 1927 29 March 1928 1 year, 12 days
6   Arthur Blakeley 26 April 1928 5 February 1929 285 days James Scullin
7   Ted Theodore 5 February 1929 19 December 1931 2 years, 317 days
8   Frank Forde 16 February 1932 28 September 1946 14 years, 224 days
John Curtin
Ben Chifley
9   H. V. Evatt 31 October 1946 20 June 1951 4 years, 232 days
10   Arthur Calwell 20 June 1951 7 March 1960 8 years, 261 days H. V. Evatt
11   Gough Whitlam 7 March 1960 9 February 1967 6 years, 339 days Arthur Calwell
12   Lance Barnard 9 February 1967 12 June 1974 7 years, 123 days Gough Whitlam
13   Jim Cairns 12 June 1974 2 July 1975 1 year, 20 days
14   Frank Crean 2 July 1975 22 December 1975 173 days
15   Tom Uren 22 December 1975 22 December 1977 2 years, 0 days
16   Lionel Bowen 22 December 1977 4 April 1990 12 years, 103 days
Bill Hayden
Bob Hawke
17   Paul Keating 4 April 1990 3 Jun 1991 1 year, 60 days
18   Brian Howe 3 June 1991 20 June 1995 4 years, 17 days
Paul Keating
19   Kim Beazley 20 June 1995 19 March 1996 273 days
20   Gareth Evans 19 March 1996 19 October 1998 2 years, 214 days Kim Beazley
21   Simon Crean 19 October 1998 22 November 2001 3 years, 34 days
22   Jenny Macklin 22 November 2001 4 December 2006 5 years, 12 days Simon Crean
Mark Latham
Kim Beazley
23   Julia Gillard 4 December 2006 24 June 2010 3 years, 202 days Kevin Rudd
24   Wayne Swan 24 June 2010 27 June 2013 3 years, 3 days Julia Gillard
25   Anthony Albanese 27 June 2013 14 October 2013 109 days Kevin Rudd
26   Tanya Plibersek 14 October 2013 30 May 2019 5 years, 228 days Bill Shorten
27   Richard Marles 30 May 2019 Incumbent 5 years, 173 days Anthony Albanese
Notes
  1. ^ As Gardiner was a member of the Senate, the party also elected a deputy leader or assistant leader in the House of Representatives. T. J. Ryan was elected assistant leader on 9 September 1920.[7] After Ryan died in office in 1 August 1921, Matthew Charlton was elected as the new deputy leader on 29 September 1921.[8] Charlton was elected leader of the ALP in the House of Representatives on 25 January 1922, following the death of Frank Tudor two weeks earlier.[9] Frank Anstey was elected deputy leader to Charlton on 16 May 1922.[10]

Senate Leader

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# Senate Leader Term start Term end Time in office Leader(s)
1   Gregor McGregor 20 May 1901 13 August 1914 13 years, 85 days Watson
Fisher
2   George Pearce 17 September 1914 14 November 1916 2 years, 58 days Fisher
Hughes
3   Albert Gardiner 14 November 1916 30 June 1926 9 years, 228 days Tudor
Charlton
4   Ted Needham 9 July 1926 25 June 1929 2 years, 351 days Charlton
Scullin
5   John Daly 25 June 1929 3 March 1931 1 year, 251 days Scullin
6   John Barnes 25 June 1929 30 June 1935 6 years, 5 days Scullin
7   Joe Collings 30 June 1935 20 September 1943 8 years, 82 days Scullin
Curtin
8   Richard Keane 20 September 1943 26 April 1946 2 years, 218 days Curtin
Chifley
9   Bill Ashley 17 June 1946 11 June 1951 4 years, 359 days Chifley
10   Nick McKenna 11 June 1951 17 Aug 1966 15 years, 67 days Chifley
Evatt
Calwell
11   Don Willesee 17 August 1966 8 February 1967 175 days Calwell
12   Lionel Murphy 8 February 1967 9 February 1975 8 years, 1 day Whitlam
13   Ken Wriedt 10 February 1975 25 September 1980 5 years, 228 days Whitlam
Hayden
14 John Button 7 November 1980 24 March 1993 12 years, 137 days Hayden
Hawke
Keating
15   Gareth Evans 24 March 1993 6 February 1996 2 years, 319 days Keating
16   John Faulkner 19 March 1996 22 October 2004 8 years, 217 days Beazley
Crean
Latham
17   Chris Evans 22 October 2004 4 February 2013 8 years, 103 days Latham
Beazley
Rudd
Gillard
18   Stephen Conroy 4 February 2013 26 June 2013 142 days Gillard
19   Penny Wong 26 June 2013 Incumbent 11 years, 146 days Rudd
Shorten
Albanese

State and territory leadership

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Australian Capital Territory

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See also: Australian Labor Party (Australian Capital Territory Branch)

New South Wales

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See also: Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch)

Northern Territory

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See also: Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)

Queensland

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See also: Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch)

South Australia

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See also: Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch)

Tasmania

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See also: Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch)

Victoria

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See also: Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)

Western Australia

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See also: Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch)

References

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  1. ^ Wu, David (22 May 2022). "Five Labor MPs to be immediately sworn in ahead of key Quad trip". Sky News Australia. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Rudd reveals plan for Labor leadership voting reform". ABC News. 8 July 2013.
  3. ^ Kevin Rudd wins over party-p leadership-p rules
  4. ^ Harrison, Bill (13 October 2013). "Bill Shorten elected Labor leader". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  5. ^ "Plibersek says she can't reconcile family responsibilities with leadership". ABC News. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  6. ^ Prime Ministers of Australia: Frank Forde. National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Mr Ryan: Assistant Leader, Federal Labour Party". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 September 1920.
  8. ^ "Mr. Tudor asked to continue". The Age. Melbourne. 30 September 1921.
  9. ^ "MR. CHARLTON LEADER IN THE HOUSE". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 January 1922.
  10. ^ "Federal Labor Party: Executive Officers Appointed". Geelong Advertiser. 17 May 1922.
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