Peter Dutton | |
---|---|
![]() Dutton in 2023 | |
Leader of the Opposition | |
Assumed office 30 May 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Anthony Albanese |
Deputy | Sussan Ley |
Preceded by | Anthony Albanese |
15th Leader of the Liberal Party | |
Assumed office 30 May 2022 | |
Deputy | Sussan Ley |
Preceded by | Scott Morrison |
Minister for Defence | |
In office 30 March 2021 – 23 May 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Scott Morrison |
Deputy | Andrew Hastie |
Preceded by | Linda Reynolds |
Succeeded by | Richard Marles |
Leader of the House | |
In office 30 March 2021 – 23 May 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Scott Morrison |
Preceded by | Christian Porter |
Succeeded by | Tony Burke |
Minister for Home Affairs | |
In office 20 December 2017 – 30 March 2021 | |
Prime Minister | Malcolm Turnbull Scott Morrison |
Preceded by | Jason Clare |
Succeeded by | Karen Andrews |
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection | |
In office 23 December 2014 – 21 August 2018 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull |
Preceded by | Scott Morrison |
Succeeded by | David Coleman |
Minister for Health | |
In office 18 September 2013 – 23 December 2014 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Abbott |
Preceded by | Tanya Plibersek |
Succeeded by | Sussan Ley |
Minister for Sport | |
In office 18 September 2013 – 23 December 2014 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Abbott |
Preceded by | Don Farrell |
Succeeded by | Sussan Ley |
Assistant Treasurer of Australia | |
In office 27 January 2006 – 3 December 2007 | |
Prime Minister | John Howard |
Preceded by | Mal Brough |
Succeeded by | Chris Bowen |
Minister for Workforce Participation | |
In office 26 October 2004 – 27 January 2006 | |
Prime Minister | John Howard |
Preceded by | Fran Bailey |
Succeeded by | Sharman Stone |
Member of the House of Representatives for Dickson | |
Assumed office 10 November 2001 | |
Preceded by | Cheryl Kernot |
Personal details | |
Born | Peter Craig Dutton 18 November 1970 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
Political party | Liberal (federal) LNP (state) |
Other political affiliations | Liberal-National Coalition |
Spouse |
Kirilly Brumby (m. 2003) |
Children | 3 |
Education | Queensland University of Technology (BBus) |
Signature | ![]() |
Website | Official website |
Police career | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Department | Queensland Police |
Branch | National Crime Authority, Drug Squad, Sex Offenders Squad |
Service years | 1990–1999 |
Rank | Detective Senior Constable[a] |
Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician and former police detective serving as the current Leader of the Opposition, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia since May 2022. He has been the member of Parliament (MP) for the division of Dickson since 2001. Dutton previously served as the minister for Defence from 2021 to 2022 and the minister for Home Affairs from 2017 to 2021. He held various ministerial positions from 2004 to 2022 in the governments of Howard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison.
Dutton grew up in Brisbane. He worked as a police officer in the Queensland Police for nearly a decade upon leaving school, and later ran a construction business with his father. He joined the Liberal Party as a teenager and was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2001 election, aged 30. Following the 2004 election, he was appointed as Minister for Employment Participation. In January 2006, he was promoted to become Assistant Treasurer under Peter Costello. After the defeat of the Liberal-National Coalition at the 2007 election, he was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Health, a role he held for the next six years.
Upon the victory of the Coalition at the 2013 election, Dutton was appointed Minister for Health and Minister for Sport. He was moved to the role of Minister for Immigration and Border Protection in December 2014, where he played a key role in overseeing Operation Sovereign Borders. He was kept in that position after Malcolm Turnbull replaced Tony Abbott as Prime Minister in September 2015. In December 2017, he was also given the restored role of Minister for Home Affairs, heading a new 'super' department with broad responsibilities brought together from other existing departments.
After the defeat of Abbott, Dutton became widely seen as the leader of the conservative faction in the Liberal Party, and began to be spoken of as a potential leader. In August 2018, after a period of poor opinion polling for the Coalition, Dutton unsuccessfully challenged Turnbull for the leadership. He then was defeated by Scott Morrison in a second leadership ballot days later after Turnbull chose to resign. He was retained as Minister for Home Affairs by Morrison, later becoming Minister for Defence and Leader of the House in March 2021. He went on to succeed Morrison as party leader unopposed after the Coalition's defeat at the 2022 election, becoming leader of the opposition. He is the first Liberal leader to come from Queensland, and the first leader since Alexander Downer to represent a seat outside of New South Wales.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha>
tags or {{efn}}
templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
template or {{notelist}}
template (see the help page).