leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...

was held in May 2019 to determine the successor to

Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian politician currently serving as Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. He previously served as leader of the opposition ...

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

and Leader of the Opposition. Shorten announced his pending resignation on 18 May, following Labor's surprise defeat in the 2019 federal election. The leadership was confirmed unopposed; Anthony Albanese was elected as Leader, with

Richard Marles Richard Donald Marles (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician serving as the 19th deputy prime minister of Australia and the Minister for Defence. He has been the deputy leader of the Labor Party since 2019 and previously served as D ...

elected Deputy Leader. The day after the election, Albanese, a member of the party's left-faction, announced his candidacy for the leadership. He had run for the role in the party's previous leadership election in 2013 though was defeated by Shorten. On 21 May

Chris Bowen Christopher Eyles Guy Bowen (born 17 January 1973) is an Australian politician who has been Minister for Climate Change and Energy in the Albanese government since June 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was first ele ...

announced he would also contest the ballot; however the next day he announced his withdrawal, citing lack of support among the party membership. Several other Labor MPs such as

Tanya Plibersek Tanya Joan Plibersek (born 2 December 1969) is an Australian politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Labor Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. She has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sydney since 1998 ...

and

Jim Chalmers James Edward Chalmers (born 2 March 1978) is an Australian politician, currently serving as Treasurer of Australia since 23 May 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served as a member of parliament for the division o ...

considered nominating for the leadership, though decided not to stand. Albanese was the only person to have declared his candidacy at the time when nominations closed on 27 May 2019. Consequently, he was formally appointed to the role when the Labor Party caucus met later on 30 May; at which point Shorten's leadership expired and Albanese's term commenced.

Process

Under party rules implemented by then-Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

after the June 2013 leadership spill, candidates had one week after the formal declaration to nominate themselves for the election. In cases where the election is held as a result of vacancy, candidates were required to receive the support of 20% of the federal Labor caucus to be eligible for nomination. If two or more candidates are successfully nominated, ballot papers are issued to party members who have two weeks to return them, at which point Labor MPs and Senators cast their votes for the position. According to the party's rules the two voting blocs are weighted equally, with the parliamentary caucus and the party members each representing 50%. As Albanese was the only candidate to have declared when nominations closed at 10:00am on Monday, 27 May, he was formally elected to the leadership alongside deputy leader

later that week when the party caucus met to confirm the new Shadow Ministry. Victorian MP

Clare O'Neil Clare Ellen O'Neil (born 12 September 1980) is an Australian politician who is the Minister for Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position tha ...

considered running for the deputy leadership in competition with Marles, though later announced she would not run for the position.

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Tony Burke Anthony Stephen Burke (born 4 November 1969) is an Australian politician serving as Leader of the House, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for the Arts since 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP ...

, Manager of Opposition Business in the House (2013–2022) (''endorsed Albanese'') *

, Shadow Minister for Finance (2016–2019) (''endorsed Albanese'') *

Joel Fitzgibbon Joel Andrew Fitzgibbon (born 16 January 1962) is a retired Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the House of Representatives from 1996 to 2022, representing the New South Wales seat of Hunt ...

, Shadow Minister for Agriculture (2013–2022) (''endorsed Albanese'') *

, Shadow Minister for Defence (2016–2022) ''(elected Deputy Leader)'' *

, Deputy Leader of the Opposition (2013–2019) *

Penny Wong Penelope Ying-Yen Wong (born 5 November 1968) is an Australian politician who has been Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate (Australia), Leader of the Government in the ...

, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (2013–2022) (''endorsed Albanese'')

References