Leaders of the Australian Labor Party

Parts of this article (those related to state and territory leadership) need to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2023)

|

Highest political office within the party

Leader of the Australian Labor Party

Incumbent
Anthony Albanese

since 30 May 2019

Member of|

* ALP National Executive
* ALP Caucus

Term length| No fixed term
Inaugural holder| Chris Watson
Formation| 20 May 1901; 123 years ago (1901-05-20)
Deputy| Richard Marles
Website| Anthony Albanese, Leader 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.

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

### Leader

[edit]

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, 161 days  |
| Himself 2022–present

### Deputy Leader

[edit]

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, 161 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

[edit]

#  | 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, 134 days  | Rudd
Shorten
Albanese

## State and territory leadership

[edit]

### Australian Capital Territory

[edit]

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

* Rosemary Follett (1989, 1991–1995, inaugural Chief Minister of the ACT, and first female head of government of an Australian state or territory)
* Jon Stanhope (2001–2011)
* Katy Gallagher (2011–2014)
* Andrew Barr (2014-)

### New South Wales

[edit]

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

* James McGowen (1910–1913)
* William Holman (1913–1916)
* John Storey (1920–21)
* James Dooley (1921, 1921–22)
* Jack Lang (1925–1927, 1930–1932)
* William McKell (1941–1947)
* James McGirr (1947–1952)
* Joseph Cahill (1952–1959)
* Bob Heffron (1959–1964)
* Jack Renshaw (1964–65)
* Neville Wran (1976–1986)
* Barrie Unsworth (1986–1988)
* Bob Carr (1995–2005)
* Morris Iemma (2005–2008)
* Nathan Rees (2008–09)
* Kristina Keneally (2009–2011, first female premier of New South Wales)
* Chris Minns (2023-)

### Northern Territory

[edit]

See also: Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)

* Clare Martin (2001–2007, first Labor Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, first female Chief Minister of the Northern Territory)
* Paul Henderson (2007–2012)
* Michael Gunner (2016-2022)
* Natasha Fyles (2022-2023)
* Eva Lawler (2023-2024)

### Queensland

[edit]

See also: Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch)

* Anderson Dawson (1899, world's first leader of a parliamentary socialist government)
* T. J. Ryan (1915–1919)
* Ted Theodore (1919–1925)
* William Gillies (1925)
* William McCormack (1925–1929)
* William Forgan Smith (1932–1942)
* Frank Cooper (1942–1946)
* Ned Hanlon (1946–1952)
* Vince Gair (1952–1957)
* Wayne Goss (1989–1996)
* Peter Beattie (1998–2007)
* Anna Bligh (2007–2012, first female premier of Queensland, and first woman in Australia to win an election as premier)
* Annastacia Palaszczuk (2015-2023)
* Steven Miles (2023-)

### South Australia

[edit]

See also: Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch)

* Thomas Price (1905–1909)
* John Verran (1910–1912)
* Crawford Vaughan (1915–1917)
* John Gunn (1924–1926)
* Lionel Hill (1926–27, 1930–1933)
* Robert Richards (1933)
* Frank Walsh (1965–1967)
* Don Dunstan (1967–68, 1970–1979)
* Des Corcoran (1979)
* John Bannon (1982–1992)
* Lynn Arnold (1992–93)
* Mike Rann (2002–2011)
* Jay Weatherill (2011–2018)
* Peter Malinauskas (2022-)

### Tasmania

[edit]

See also: Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch)

* John Earle (1909, 1914–1916)
* Joseph Lyons (1923–1928)
* Albert Ogilvie (1934–1939)
* Edmund Dwyer-Gray (1939)
* Robert Cosgrove (1939–1947, 1948–1958)
* Edward Brooker (1947–48)
* Eric Reece (1958–1969, 1972–1975)
* Bill Neilson (1975–1977)
* Doug Lowe (1977–1981)
* Harry Holgate (1981–82)
* Michael Field (1989–1992)
* Jim Bacon (1998–2004)
* Paul Lennon (2004–2008)
* David Bartlett (2008–2011)
* Lara Giddings (2011–2014, first female Premier of Tasmania)

### Victoria

[edit]

See also: Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)

* George Elmslie (1913)
* George Prendergast (1924)
* Edmond Hogan (1927–28, 1929–1932)
* John Cain (34th Premier of Victoria) (1943, 1945–1947, 1952–1955)
* John Cain (41st Premier of Victoria) (1982–1990)
* Joan Kirner (1990–1992, first female premier of Victoria)
* Steve Bracks (1999–2007)
* John Brumby (2007–2010)
* Daniel Andrews (2014-2023)
* Jacinta Allan (2023-)

### Western Australia

[edit]

See also: Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch)

* Henry Daglish (1904–05)
* John Scaddan (1911–1916)
* Philip Collier (1924–1930, 1933–1936)
* John Willcock (1936–1945)
* Frank Wise (1945–1947)
* Albert Hawke (1953–1959)
* John Tonkin (1971–1974)
* Brian Burke (1983–1988)
* Peter Dowding (1988–1990)
* Carmen Lawrence (1990–1993, first female premier of an Australian state)
* Geoff Gallop (2001–2006)
* Alan Carpenter (2006–2008)
* Mark McGowan (2017-2023)
* Roger Cook (2023-)

## References

[edit]

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.

* v
* t
* e

Leaders of the Australian Labor Party

* Watson
* Fisher
* Hughes
* Tudor
* Charlton
* Scullin
* Curtin
* Chifley
* Evatt
* Calwell
* Whitlam
* Hayden
* Hawke
* Keating
* Beazley
* Crean
* Latham
* Beazley
* Rudd
* Gillard
* Rudd
* Shorten
* Albanese

* v
* t
* e

Australian Labor Party

Leaders|

* Chris Watson
* Andrew Fisher
* Billy Hughes
* Frank Tudor
* Matthew Charlton
* James Scullin
* John Curtin
* Ben Chifley
* H. V. Evatt
* Arthur Calwell
* Gough Whitlam
* Bill Hayden
* Bob Hawke
* Paul Keating
* Kim Beazley
* Simon Crean
* Mark Latham
* Kim Beazley
* Kevin Rudd
* Julia Gillard
* Kevin Rudd
* Bill Shorten
* Anthony Albanese

Deputy leaders|

* Gregor McGregor
* Billy Hughes
* George Pearce
* Albert Gardiner
* James Scullin
* Arthur Blakeley
* Ted Theodore
* Frank Forde
* H. V. Evatt
* Arthur Calwell
* Gough Whitlam
* Lance Barnard
* Jim Cairns
* Frank Crean
* Tom Uren
* Lionel Bowen
* Paul Keating
* Brian Howe
* Kim Beazley
* Gareth Evans
* Simon Crean
* Jenny Macklin
* Julia Gillard
* Wayne Swan
* Anthony Albanese
* Tanya Plibersek
* Richard Marles

Governments|

* Watson
* Fisher I
* II
* III
* Hughes
* Scullin
* Curtin
* Forde
* Chifley
* Whitlam
* Hawke
* Keating
* Rudd I
* Gillard
* Rudd II
* Albanese

Ministries|

* Watson
* Fisher 1
* 2
* 3
* Hughes
* Scullin
* Curtin 1
* 2
* Forde
* Chifley 1
* 2
* Whitlam 1
* 2
* 3
* Hawke 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* Keating 1
* 2
* Rudd 1
* Gillard 1
* 2
* Rudd 2
* Albanese

Shadow cabinets|

* Whitlam (1967–72)
* Whitlam (1975–77)
* Hayden
* Hawke
* Beazley (1996–2001)
* Crean
* Latham
* Beazley (2005–06)
* Rudd
* Shorten
* Albanese

State branches|

* Australian Capital Territory
* New South Wales
* Northern Territory
* Queensland
* South Australia
* Tasmania
* Victoria
* Western Australia

Party institutions|

* National Conference
* National Executive
* Australian Young Labor
* Australian Fabian Society
* Chifley Research Centre
* Federal Caucus
* John Curtin House

Factions|

| Current|

* Labor Right
* Labor Left
* Independent Labor

|

Historical|

* Ferguson Left
* Lang Labor

History|

* History of the Australian Labor Party
* 1916 split
* 1931 split
* 1955 split
* 1975 Australian constitutional crisis
* Faceless men
* Federal Labor (NSW)
* Gang of Four
* Industrial Groups
* Norfolk Island Labor Party
* The light on the hill
* Tree of Knowledge

Leadership votes|

* 1901
* 1907
* 1913
* 1915
* 1916
* 1920
* 1922
* 1928
* 1931
* 1935
* 1945
* 1951
* 1954
* 1956
* 1959
* 1960
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1976
* 1977 (May)
* 1977 (Dec)
* 1982
* 1983
* 1991 (Jun)
* 1991 (Dec)
* 1996
* 2001
* 2003 (Jun)
* 2003 (Dec)
* 2005
* 2006
* 2010
* 2012
* 2013 (Mar)
* 2013 (Jun)
* 2013 (Oct)
* 2019

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template