Timothy James Nicholls (born 6 April 1965) is an Australian politician and a former leader of the

Liberal National Party of Queensland The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 2008 by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal Party and the National Party. At a federal level and in most other ...

. He served as the

Treasurer of Queensland The Treasurer of Queensland is the title held by the Cabinet minister who is responsible for the Queensland Treasury, and by extension, all financial matters of the Queensland Government. List of Queensland treasurers See also *Politics of ...

and the Minister for Trade of that state between March/April 2012 and 14 February 2015. He is the member for Clayfield in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembl ...

. He was originally a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

including a stint as its deputy leader, but joined the Liberal National Party in 2008 when the Liberal Party and the National Parties merged in Queensland.

Education

Nicholls was educated at Trinity Grammar School in Melbourne and the

Anglican Church Grammar School The Anglican Church Grammar School (ACGS), formerly the Church of England Grammar School and commonly referred to as Churchie, is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in East Brisbane, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Q ...

in Brisbane. He completed a Bachelor of Laws at

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...

Political career

Nicholls, originally a solicitor, began his career as a councillor in the Hamilton ward of the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

, which he held for six years. In 2006 he ran as the Liberal candidate in Clayfield. He defeated incumbent member Liddy Clark on 9 September 2006 achieving a swing of 3.2 points. Shortly after being elected to State Parliament, Nicholls was encouraged by party colleagues to stand against Bruce Flegg for the Liberal Party leadership. He did not initially have enough support in the eight member Liberal caucus. Shortly after the federal election of 2007, Nicholls again stood against Flegg for leadership. Eventually Mark McArdle was offered as a neutral party and he accepted leadership with Nicholls as his deputy. The leadership dispute was rendered virtually moot when the Queensland Liberals and Queensland Nationals merged less than a year later to form the Liberal National Party. Nicholls was appointed Shadow Treasurer by

Lawrence Springborg Lawrence James Springborg (born 17 February 1968) is an Australian politician. He led the National Party in the Queensland Parliament from 2003 to 2006 and again in 2008, before becoming the first leader of the merged Liberal National Party ...

and continued to hold that position in

John-Paul Langbroek John-Paul Honoré Langbroek (born 31 January 1961) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland representing the centre-right Liberal Party and its successor, the centre-right Liberal National Part ...

's Shadow Ministry.Member Biography: Timothy Nicholls
Queensland Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 21 March 2012. When Campbell Newman stood for the leadership of the party in April 2011, Nicholls supported him and was named interim Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Newman retained Nicholls as Shadow Treasurer. After the LNP won the largest majority government in Queensland history at the 2012 state election, Newman named Nicholls as his Treasurer, and he was sworn in on 26 March.

Leader of the LNP (2016–2017)

Following the state election in 2015 which saw the LNP lose government and several difficult months in parliament, Nicholls challenged

for the leadership of the party on 6 May 2016, winning the ballot 22 votes to 19. He was the third person from the Liberal side of the merger to hold the post. After the party suffered a three-seat swing at the 2017 state election, Nicholls announced he would stand down as leader of the party.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholls, Tim 1965 births Living people Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland Treasurers of Queensland Liberal National Party of Queensland politicians Queensland University of Technology alumni People educated at Trinity Grammar School, Kew People educated at Anglican Church Grammar School Australian solicitors 21st-century Australian politicians Deputy opposition leaders