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Turnbull Now 23rd Longest-Serving Prime Minister

Aug 03, 2016

Malcolm Turnbull is now Australia’s 23rd longest-serving prime minister.

TurnbullTurnbull is the nation’s 29th Prime Minister. Whilst he has not yet reached a year in office, he has surpassed the terms of 6 of the other 28 who have held the office since 1901.

Turnbull has been prime minister for 10 months and 18 days, a total of 324 days. After overthrowing Tony Abbott in a Liberal Party leadership ballot on September 14, 2015, he was sworn in as PM on September 15.

If Turnbull is still Prime Minister on December 9 this year, he will overtake Joseph Cook’s 452 days in office. Cook’s Liberal Party won office in 1913 with a majority of one, as Turnbull has just achieved. He went to a double dissolution election less than halfway into his term and was comfortably defeated by the ALP’s Andrew Fisher, who then became the second man to serve three terms in the top job.

Turnbull has overtaken the time in office of 2 Labor and 4 non-Labor PMs: Frank Forde (ALP, 8 days), Earle Page (Country Party, 20 days), John McEwen (Country Party, 23 days), Arthur Fadden (Country Party, 39 days), Chris Watson (ALP, 113 days) and George Reid (Free Trade, 321 days). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Liberal Party, Political History, Prime Minister, Turnbull Tagged With: , , ,

Tony Abbott Moves Up A Notch

Aug 05, 2014

Tony Abbott today becomes the 22nd longest-serving of Australia’s 28 prime ministers, overtaking George Reid’s term of 10 months and 18 days.

Even though he has not yet served a full year, Abbott has overtaken six previous PMs: Frank Forde, Earle Page, John McEwen, Arthur Fadden, Chris Watson and George Reid.

Forde (1945), Page (1939) and McEwen (1967-68) were all stop-gap PMs, serving briefly following the deaths of Curtin, Lyons and Holt.

Fadden served briefly in 1941 but was voted out of office by the House of Representatives.

Watson, the first Labor PM, served for four months in 1904. He was succeeded by Reid, the only Free Trade PM, who lasted for just on 11 months in 1904-05.

Abbott will move up to 21st position on December 13 this year, when he overtakes Joseph Cook, who served for 1 year, 2 months and 25 days. Cook was prime minister a hundred years ago today when Australia joined Britain in declaring war on Germany.

Filed Under: Abbott Tagged With: , ,

Abbott Moves Into 23rd Place

Jan 08, 2014

Tony Abbott is now the 23rd longest-serving prime minister since Federation.

With his official prime ministership – dated from his swearing in on September 18 last year – now of 3 months and 21 days duration, Abbott has surpassed John “Chris” Watson’s term in 1904.

Abbott has already overtaken Frank Forde, Earle Page, John McEwen and Arthur Fadden.

For trivia buffs, Abbott is now sandwiched between Watson and George Reid, who both served in 1904, the first year of three prime ministers. Abbott was himself one of three prime ministers in 2013.

On August 5, he will overtake Reid and move into 22nd position among the 28 prime ministers since 1901.

Provided he survives the year, Abbott will also overtake the first Liberal leader, Joseph Cook, in November.

When he catches up to Harold Holt in August 2015, Abbott will finally have moved ahead of a prime minister who actually won an election.

Filed Under: Abbott Tagged With: , ,