A leadership election of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

was held on 30 May 2022, following the defeat of the

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

at the 2022 federal election and the resignation of Morrison as party leader. The newly elected leader would become

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

to the Labor Party

Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...

. A separate

leadership spill In Australian politics, a leadership spill (or simply spill) is a colloquialism referring to a declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant and open for contest. A spill may involve all or some of the leadership positions (le ...

for the Liberal Party's

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

partner National Party was also held on the same day.

Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives sinc ...

was elected unopposed as leader, while

Sussan Ley Sussan Penelope Ley (pron. , "Susan Lee"; ; born 14 December 1961) is an Australian politician who has been deputy leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. She has been member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales seat of Farrer since 2 ...

was elected unopposed as deputy leader. Dutton, who is from

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, is the first leader outside of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to lead the Liberal Party since

Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United King ...

in 1995 from

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Simon Birmingham Simon John Birmingham (born 14 June 1974) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for South Australia since 2007. A member of the Liberal Party, he served in the Morrison Government as Minister for Finance from 2020 to 2022 and as Min ...

was re-elected leader of the Liberal Party in the Senate. Dutton is only the second Liberal leader after Downer outside of New South Wales and Victoria. Notwithstanding the party's inaugural leader and deputy leader Robert Menzies and Eric Harrison who had continued with their leadership positions from the previous United Australia Party, the election of Dutton as leader and Ley as his deputy marks the first time that both a new leader and new deputy leader were elected unopposed simultaneously.

Background

After the governing

Liberal–National coalition The Liberal–National Coalition, commonly known simply as "the Coalition" or informally as the LNP, is an political alliance, alliance of Centre-right politics, centre-right political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in Politic ...

lost power at the 2022 federal election,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

announced his resignation as Liberal leader on election night. He had led the party since 2018 and been Prime Minister since

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

opted not to contest the second of two leadership spills in 2018. Meanwhile, deputy leader and outgoing Treasurer

Josh Frydenberg Joshua Anthony Frydenberg () (born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisio ...

lost his seat of Kooyong in the election, leaving the position open for election. He was considered a likely successor to Morrison if he had been re-elected to Parliament.

Candidates

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

during the Morrison Government, has been seen as the front runner to lead the Liberal Party following Morrison's resignation and Frydenberg's defeat. Outgoing

Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction The Minister for Climate Change and Energy is a portfolio in the Government of Australia. The current Minister is Chris Bowen. The minister administers his or her portfolios through the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and W ...

Angus Taylor,

Minister for Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

Karen Andrews Karen Lesley Andrews (née Weir; born 23 August 1960) is an Australian politician who served in the Morrison Government as Minister for Industry, Science and Technology from 2018 to 2021 and as Minister for Home Affairs from 2021 to 2022. She i ...

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment The Minister for Trade and Tourism is a portfolio in the Government of Australia, falling within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The position is currently held by Senator Don Farrell, sworn in as part of the Albanese ministr ...

Dan Tehan, and Tasmanian MP

Bridget Archer Bridget Kathleen Archer (born 18 May 1975) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2019 federal election. She is a member of the Liberal Party and represents the Division of Bass in Tasmania. ...

have also been posited as potential candidates for the leadership. Speculated candidates for the deputy leadership include Minister for the Environment

and

Minister for Families and Social Services The Minister for Social Services is the Australian federal government minister who oversees Australian Government social services, including mental health, families and children's policy, and support for carers and people with disabilities, and ...

Anne Ruston Anne Sowerby Ruston (born 10 June 1963) is an Australian politician who served as Minister for Families and Social Services in the Morrison Government from 2019 to 2022. She has been a Senator for South Australia since 2012. Before entering p ...

Leadership

Declared

Declined

(2021–2022) (''endorsed Dutton'') *

, member of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for Bass (2019–present) * Angus Taylor, Minister for Energy (2018–2022) (''endorsed Dutton'') * Dan Tehan, Minister for Trade (2020–2022)

Deputy leadership

Declared

Declined

(2021–2022) *

, member of the

for Bass (2019–present) * Jane Hume, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and The Digital Economy, Minister for Women's Economic Security (2020–2022) *

, Minister for Social Services (2019–2022) * Dan Tehan, Minister for Trade (2020–2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2022 Liberal Party of Australia leadership election 2022 elections in Australia Liberal Party of Australia leadership election Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills May 2022 events in Australia Uncontested elections