The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. The office is the equivalent of a

state premier The premiers and chief ministers of the Australian states and territories are the heads of the executive governments in the six states and two self-governing territories of Australia. They perform the same function at the state and territory ...

. When the

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Northern Territory of Australia. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member electorates for four-year terms. The voting method f ...

was created in 1974, the head of government was officially known as majority leader. This title was used in the first parliament (1974–1977) and the first eighteen months of the second. When self-government was granted the Northern Territory in 1978, the title of the head of government became chief minister. The chief minister is formally appointed by the

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

, who in normal circumstances will appoint the head of whichever party holds the majority of seats in the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

Legislative Assembly. In times of constitutional crisis, the administrator can appoint someone else as chief minister, though this has never occurred. Since 13 May 2022, following the resignation of

Michael Gunner Michael Patrick Francis Gunner (born 6 January 1976) is an Australian politician and was the 11th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2016 to 2022. He is a Labor member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, having held his ...

, the chief minister is

Natasha Fyles Natasha Kate Fyles (born 26 May 1978)Natasha Fyles
''Territory Women'', Northern Ter ...

of the Labor Party. She is the second female chief minister of the Northern Territory.

History

The Country Liberal Party won the first Northern Territory election on 19 October 1974 and elected

Goff Letts Godfrey Alan "Goff" Letts (born 18 January 1928) is the former Majority Leader of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1974 to 1977. Born in Donald, Victoria, Letts attended Melbourne Grammar and Melbourne and Sydney Universities, gra ...

majority leader. He headed an Executive that carried out most of the functions of a ministry at the state level. At the 1977 election Letts lost his seat and party leadership. He was succeeded on 13 August 1977 by

Paul Everingham Paul Anthony Edward Everingham (born 4 February 1943) is a former Australian politician who was the head of government of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1977 to 1984, serving as the second and last Majority Leader (1977–1978) and ...

(CLP) as Majority Leader. When the Territory attained self-government on 1 July 1978, Everingham became chief minister with greatly expanded powers. In 2001,

Clare Martin Clare Majella Martin (born 15 June 1952) is a former Australian journalist and politician. She was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995. She was appointed Opposition Leader in 1999, and won ...

became the first Labor and female chief minister of the Northern Territory. Until 2004 the conduct of elections and drawing of electoral boundaries was performed by the Northern Territory Electoral Office, a unit of the Department of the chief minister. In March 2004 the independent

Northern Territory Electoral Commission The Northern Territory Electoral Commission (NTEC) is an independent government agency of the Government of the Northern Territory with responsibility for the conduct of elections An election is a formal group decision-making process ...

was established. In 2013, Mills was replaced as chief minister and CLP leader by Adam Giles at the 2013 CLP leadership ballot on 13 March to become the first

indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

to lead a state or territory government in Australia. Following the 2016 election landslide outcome, Labor's

became chief minister. On 10 May 2022, Gunner announced his intention to resign. On 13 May 2022,

Natasha Fyles Natasha Kate Fyles (born 26 May 1978)Natasha Fyles
''Territory Women'', Northern Ter ...

was elected to the position by the Labor caucus.

List of chief ministers of the Northern Territory

From the foundation of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974 until the granting of self-government in 1978, the head of government was known as the majority leader: From 1978, the position was known as the chief minister:

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory 1974–2012 – Office Holders
{{Politics of the Northern Territory *

Northern Territory-related lists Northern Territory ministries

History

List of chief ministers of the Northern Territory

See also

References

External links