Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia)
The Minister for Foreign Affairs (commonly shortened to Foreign Minister) is the minister in the Government of Australia who is responsible for overseeing the international diplomacy section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Senator Marise Payne was appointed as Foreign Minister by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in August 2018 following the resignation of Julie Bishop.
Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
---|---|
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | |
Style | The Honourable (Formally) His/Her Excellency (Internationally)[1] |
Appointer | Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia |
Inaugural holder | Sir Edmund Barton |
Formation | 1 January 1901 |
A subordinate position, Minister for International Development and the Pacific, has been held by Alex Hawke since 26 May 2019. This position was previously held by Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells from 2016 to 2018, and Anne Ruston from 2018 to 2019.[2]
Scope
The minister is usually one of the most senior members of Cabinet – the position is equivalent to that of Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in Britain or Secretary of State in the United States – as shown by the fact that eleven Prime Ministers of Australia have also worked as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The minister is seen as one of the people most responsible for formulating Australia's foreign policy, as they along with other relevant ministers advise the Prime Minister in developing and implementing foreign policy, and also acts as the government's main spokesperson on international affairs issues. In recent times, the minister also undertakes numerous international trips to meet with foreign representatives and Heads of State or Government.
List of ministers for foreign affairs
The portfolio has existed continuously since 1901, except for the period 14 November 1916 to 21 December 1921. Prior to 6 November 1970, the office was known as the Minister for External Affairs. Between 24 July 1987 and 24 March 1993 it was known as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. Starting with the Keating Government, the Trade portfolio has been administered separately by the Minister for Trade.
The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs, or any of its precedent titles:[3]
Order | Minister | Party | Prime Minister | Title | Term start | Term end | Term in office | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Edmund Barton1 2 | Protectionist | Barton | Minister for External Affairs | 1 January 1901 | 24 September 1903 | 2 years, 266 days | |
2 | Alfred Deakin1 | Deakin | 24 September 1903 | 27 April 1904 | 216 days | |||
3 | Billy Hughes | Labor | Watson | 27 April 1904 | 17 August 1904 | 112 days | ||
4 | George Reid1 | Free Trade | Reid | 18 August 1904 | 5 July 1905 | 321 days | ||
n/a | Alfred Deakin1 | Protectionist | Deakin | 5 July 1905 | 13 November 1908 | 3 years, 131 days | ||
5 | Lee Batchelor | Labor | Fisher | 13 November 1908 | 2 June 1909 | 201 days | ||
6 | Littleton Groom | Liberal | Deakin | 2 June 1909 | 29 April 1910 | 331 days | ||
n/a | Lee Batchelor | Labor | Fisher | 29 April 1910 | 8 October 1911 | 1 year, 162 days | ||
7 | Josiah Thomas | 14 October 1911 | 24 June 1913 | 1 year, 253 days | ||||
8 | Paddy Glynn | Liberal | Cook | 24 June 1913 | 17 September 1914 | 1 year, 85 days | ||
9 | John Arthur | Labor | Fisher | 17 September 1914 | 9 December 1914 | 83 days | ||
10 | Hugh Mahon | 9 December 1914 | 27 October 1915 | 322 days | ||||
Hughes | 27 October 1915 | 14 November 1916 | 1 year, 18 days | |||||
n/a | Billy Hughes1 | Nationalist | Hughes | Minister for External Affairs | 21 December 1921 | 9 February 1923 | 1 year, 50 days | |
11 | Stanley Bruce1 | Bruce | 9 February 1923 | 22 October 1929 | 6 years, 255 days | |||
12 | James Scullin1 | Labor | Scullin | 22 October 1929 | 6 January 1932 | 2 years, 76 days | ||
13 | John Latham | United Australia | Lyons | 6 January 1932 | 12 October 1934 | 2 years, 279 days | ||
14 | Sir George Pearce | 12 October 1934 | 29 November 1937 | 3 years, 48 days | ||||
n/a | Billy Hughes | 29 November 1937 | 7 April 1939 | 1 year, 129 days | ||||
Page | 7 April 1939 | 26 April 1939 | 19 days | |||||
15 | Sir Henry Somer Gullett | Menzies | 26 April 1939 | 14 March 1940 | 323 days | |||
16 | John McEwen | Country | 14 March 1940 | 28 October 1940 | 228 days | |||
17 | Frederick Stewart | United Australia | 28 October 1940 | 29 August 1941 | 305 days | |||
Fadden | 29 August 1941 | 7 October 1941 | 39 days | |||||
18 | Dr. H. V. Evatt | Labor | Curtin | 7 October 1941 | 6 July 1945 | 8 years, 73 days | ||
Forde | 6 July 1945 | 13 July 1945 | ||||||
Chifley | 13 July 1945 | 19 December 1949 | ||||||
19 | Percy Spender | Liberal | Menzies | 19 December 1949 | 26 April 1951 | 1 year, 128 days | ||
20 | Richard Casey | 27 April 1951 | 4 February 1960 | 8 years, 283 days | ||||
21 | Robert Menzies1 | 4 February 1960 | 22 December 1961 | 1 year, 321 days | ||||
22 | Sir Garfield Barwick | 22 December 1961 | 24 April 1964 | 2 years, 124 days | ||||
23 | Paul Hasluck | 24 April 1964 | 26 January 1966 | 4 years, 293 days | ||||
Holt | 26 January 1966 | 19 December 1967 | ||||||
McEwen | 19 December 1967 | 10 January 1968 | ||||||
Gorton | 10 January 1968 | 11 February 1969 | ||||||
24 | Gordon Freeth | 11 February 1969 | 12 November 1969 | 274 days | ||||
25 | William McMahon | 12 November 1969 | 6 November 1970 | 1 year, 130 days | ||||
Minister for Foreign Affairs | 6 November 1970 | 10 March 1971 | ||||||
McMahon | 10 March 1971 | 22 March 1971 | ||||||
26 | Leslie Bury | 22 March 1971 | 2 August 1971 | 133 days | ||||
27 | Nigel Bowen | 2 August 1971 | 5 December 1972 | 1 year, 125 days | ||||
28 | Gough Whitlam1 | Labor | Whitlam | 5 December 1972 | 6 November 1973 | 336 days | ||
29 | Don Willesee | 6 November 1973 | 11 November 1975 | 2 years, 5 days | ||||
30 | Andrew Peacock | Liberal | Fraser | 12 November 1975 | 3 November 1980 | 4 years, 358 days | ||
31 | Tony Street | 3 November 1980 | 11 March 1983 | 2 years, 128 days | ||||
32 | Bill Hayden | Labor | Hawke | 11 March 1983 | 24 July 1987 | 5 years, 159 days | ||
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade | 24 July 1987 | 17 August 1988 | ||||||
33 | Gareth Evans | 2 September 1988 | 20 December 1991 | 7 years, 191 days | ||||
Keating | 20 December 1991 | 24 March 1993 | ||||||
Minister for Foreign Affairs | 24 March 1993 | 11 March 1996 | ||||||
34 | Alexander Downer | Liberal | Howard | 11 March 1996 | 3 December 2007 | 11 years, 267 days | ||
35 | Stephen Smith | Labor | Rudd | 3 December 2007 | 24 June 2010 | 2 years, 285 days | ||
Gillard | 24 June 2010 | 14 September 2010 | ||||||
36 | Kevin Rudd | 14 September 2010 | 22 February 2012 | 1 year, 161 days | ||||
37 | Bob Carr | 13 March 2012 | 27 June 2013 | 1 year, 189 days | ||||
Rudd | 27 June 2013 | 18 September 2013 | ||||||
38 | Julie Bishop | Liberal | Abbott | 18 September 2013 | 15 September 2015 | 4 years, 344 days | ||
Turnbull | 15 September 2015 | 24 August 2018 | ||||||
Morrison | 24 August 2018 | 28 August 2018 | ||||||
39 | Marise Payne | 28 August 2018 | Incumbent | 1 year, 352 days |
Notes
- 1 Also served as Prime Minister for some or all of their term.
- 2 Barton was knighted in 1902, while serving as Minister.
List of ministers for international development and the pacific
The Minister for International Development was responsible, in the Rudd Cabinet, for the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the international development and humanitarian aid policies of the Commonwealth of Australia, administered through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).[4][5][6] AusAID was abolished by the incoming prime minister, Tony Abbott, in September 2013 and under the operations of the Abbott Cabinet its functions were absorbed into DFAT.
The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for International Development and the Pacific, or any precedent title:
Order | Minister | Party | Prime Minister | Ministerial title | Term start | Term end | Term in office | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Melissa Parke | Labor | Rudd | Minister for International Development | 1 July 2013 | 18 September 2013 | 79 days | |
2 | Steven Ciobo | Liberal | Turnbull | Minister for International Development and the Pacific | 21 September 2015 | 18 February 2016 | 150 days | |
3 | Concetta Fierravanti-Wells | 18 February 2016 | 21 August 2018 | 2 years, 184 days | ||||
4 | Anne Ruston | Morrison | Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific | 28 August 2018 | 26 May 2019 | 271 days | ||
4 | Alex Hawke | Morrison | Minister for International Development and the Pacific | 26 May 2019 | Incumbent | 1 year, 80 days |
Former ministerial titles
List of ministers for tourism
Since 1966, Australia had ministers responsible for tourism under various titles. The following individuals have been appointed as Minister for Tourism, or any of its precedent titles:[3]
Order | Minister | Party | Prime Minister | Ministerial title | Term start | Term end | Term in office | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Don Chipp | Liberal | Holt | Minister in charge of Tourist Activities | 14 December 1966 | 19 December 1967 | 1 year, 76 days | |
McEwen | 19 December 1967 | 10 January 1968 | ||||||
Gorton | 10 January 1968 | 28 February 1968 | ||||||
2 | Reg Wright | 28 February 1968 | 10 March 1971 | 3 years, 92 days | ||||
McMahon | 10 March 1971 | 31 May 1971 | ||||||
3 | Peter Howson | 31 May 1971 | 5 December 1972 | 1 year, 188 days | ||||
4 | Frank Stewart | Labor | Whitlam | Minister for Tourism and Recreation | 19 December 1972 | 11 November 1975 | 2 years, 327 days | |
5 | Reg Withers | Liberal | Fraser | 11 November 1975 | 22 December 1975 | 41 days | ||
6 | John Brown | Labor | Hawke | Minister for Sport, Recreation and Tourism | 11 March 1983 | 24 July 1987 | 4 years, 282 days | |
Minister for Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories | 24 July 1987 | 18 December 1987 | ||||||
7 | Graham Richardson | Labor | Hawke | Minister for Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories | 19 January 1988 | 4 April 1990 | 2 years, 75 days | |
8 | Ros Kelly | 4 April 1990 | 20 December 1991 | 1 year, 267 days | ||||
Keating | 20 December 1991 | 27 December 1991 | ||||||
9 | Alan Griffiths | Minister for Tourism | 27 December 1991 | 24 March 1993 | 1 year, 87 days | |||
10 | Michael Lee | 24 March 1993 | 11 March 1996 | 2 years, 353 days | ||||
11 | John Moore | Liberal | Howard | Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism | 11 March 1996 | 9 October 1997 | 1 year, 212 days | |
12 | Andrew Thomson | Minister for Sport and Tourism | 9 October 1997 | 21 October 1998 | 1 year, 12 days | |||
13 | Jackie Kelly | 21 October 1998 | 26 November 2001 | 3 years, 36 days | ||||
14 | Joe Hockey | Minister for Small Business and Tourism | 26 November 2001 | 26 October 2004 | 2 years, 335 days | |||
15 | Fran Bailey | 26 October 2004 | 3 December 2007 | 3 years, 38 days | ||||
16 | Martin Ferguson | Labor | Rudd | Minister for Tourism | 3 December 2007 | 24 June 2010 | 5 years, 112 days | |
Gillard | 24 June 2010 | 25 March 2013 | ||||||
17 | Gary Gray | 25 March 2013 | 27 June 2013 | 177 days | ||||
Rudd | 27 June 2013 | 18 September 2013 | ||||||
18 | Richard Colbeck | Liberal | Turnbull | Minister for Tourism and International Education | 21 September 2015 | 19 July 2016 | 302 days | |
For subsequent appointments, see the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment |
List of ministers assisting the minister for foreign affairs
The following individuals have been appointed as Minister assisting the Minister for Foreign Affairs or any of its precedent titles:
Order | Minister | Party | Prime Minister | Ministerial title | Term start | Term end | Term in office | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Don Willesee | Labor | Whitlam | Minister assisting the Minister for Foreign Affairs | 19 December 1972 | 6 November 1973 | 322 days | |
2 | Bill Morrison | Minister assisting the Minister for Foreign Affairs in matters relating to Papua New Guinea | 30 November 1973 | 6 June 1975 | 1 year, 346 days | |||
Minister assisting the Minister for Foreign Affairs in matters relating to the Islands of the Pacific | 6 June 1975 | 11 November 1975 | ||||||
3 | Gareth Evans | Labor | Hawke | Minister assisting the Minister for Foreign Affairs | 13 December 1984 | 24 July 1987 | 2 years, 223 days |
References
- "Heads of State, Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs" (PDF). UN. United Nations Foreign and Protocol Service.
- "Ministerial Swearing-in Ceremony". Events. Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. 18 February 2016. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- "Ministries and Cabinets". 43rd Parliamentary Handbook: Historical information on the Australian Parliament. Parliament of Australia. 2010. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- "Melissa Parke appointed Minister for International Development". Australian Agency for International Development (Press release). Australian Government. 1 July 2013. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- "Oxfam welcomes new Minister for International Development" (Press release). Oxfam Australia. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- Betteridge, Ashlee (1 July 2013). "Rudd appoints Minister for International Development". DevPolicy Blog. Australia: Development Policy Centre. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
External links
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