Malcolm Turnbull

The Honourable Malcolm Turnbull AC
Official portrait, 2015
29th Prime Minister of Australia Elections: 2016
In office 15 September 2015 – 24 August 2018
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Sir Peter Cosgrove
Deputy	Warren Truss Barnaby Joyce Michael McCormack
Preceded by	Tony Abbott
Succeeded by	Scott Morrison
12th Leader of the Liberal Party
In office 14 September 2015 – 24 August 2018
Deputy	Julie Bishop
Preceded by	Tony Abbott
Succeeded by	Scott Morrison
In office 16 September 2008 – 1 December 2009
Deputy	Julie Bishop
Preceded by	Brendan Nelson
Succeeded by	Tony Abbott
Leader of the Opposition
In office 16 September 2008 – 1 December 2009
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd
Deputy	Julie Bishop
Preceded by	Brendan Nelson
Succeeded by	Tony Abbott
Minister for Communications
In office 18 September 2013 – 14 September 2015
Prime Minister	Tony Abbott
Preceded by	Anthony Albanese
Succeeded by	Mitch Fifield
Minister for the Environment and Water
In office 30 January 2007 – 3 December 2007
Prime Minister	John Howard
Preceded by	Ian Campbell
Succeeded by	Peter Garrett
Member of the Australian Parliament for Wentworth
In office 9 October 2004 – 31 August 2018
Preceded by	Peter King
Succeeded by	Kerryn Phelps
Chairman of the Australian Republican Movement
In office November 1993 – 20 September 2000
Preceded by	Tom Keneally
Succeeded by	Greg Barns
Personal details
Born	Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (1954-10-24) 24 October 1954 (age 70) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Liberal
Other political affiliations	Coalition
Spouse	Lucy Hughes ​ (m. 1980)​
Relations	Angela Lansbury (second cousin once removed)
Children	2
Parent(s)	Bruce Turnbull Coral Lansbury
Education	Vaucluse Public School Sydney Grammar St Ives Preparatory School Sydney Grammar School
Alma mater	University of Sydney (BA, LLB) Brasenose College, Oxford (BCL)
Profession	Barrister businessman politician
Signature
Website	Official website

This article is part of a series about Malcolm Turnbull
Early life and career Spycatcher trial OzEmail Member for Wentworth (2004–2018) Howard government 2008 Liberal leadership spill Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme OzCar affair 2009 Liberal leadership spill Abbott government National Broadband Network 2015 Liberal leadership spill Prime Minister of Australia First Ministry Second Ministry 2016 election Robodebt scheme Parliamentary eligibility crisis Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey 2018 Liberal leadership spills 2018 Wentworth by-election Australian republican movement
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Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Wentworth from 2004 to 2018.

Turnbull graduated from the University of Sydney as a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, before attending Brasenose College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a Bachelor of Civil Law degree. For more than two decades, he worked as a journalist, lawyer, merchant banker, and venture capitalist. He was Chair of the Australian Republican Movement from 1993 to 2000, and was one of the leaders of the unsuccessful "Yes" campaign in the 1999 republic referendum. He was first elected to the Australian House of Representatives as a member of parliament (MP) for the division of Wentworth in New South Wales at the 2004 election, and was Minister for the Environment and Water in the Howard government from January 2007 until December 2007.

After coming second in the 2007 leadership election, Turnbull won the leadership of the Liberal Party in a leadership spill the following year and became Leader of the Opposition. However, his support of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme proposed by the Rudd government in December 2009 led in turn to a leadership challenge by Tony Abbott, who defeated Turnbull by a single vote. Though initially planning to leave politics after this, Turnbull chose to remain and was later appointed Minister for Communications in the Abbott government following the Liberal-National Coalition's victory at the 2013 election.

Two years later, citing consistently poor opinion polling, Turnbull resigned from the Cabinet on 14 September 2015 and challenged Abbott, successfully reclaiming the leadership of the Liberal Party by ten votes. He was sworn in as prime minister the following day. The Turnbull government initiated the National Innovation and Science Agenda as its key economic priority, working to promote STEM education, increase venture capital funding for new start-ups, and launch an "ideas boom".^[1] Turnbull also pursued "city deals" with local and state governments to improve planning outcomes and encourage investment in major infrastructure projects such as the Western Sydney Airport.^[2] In 2016, Turnbull led the Coalition to a narrow victory in a double dissolution election.^[3] In his second term, Turnbull initiated and campaigned for the "Yes" side in the same-sex marriage plebiscite, which was ultimately successful. Turnbull also announced Snowy Hydro 2.0, a major expansion of the Snowy Mountains Scheme as a key component in enabling the transition to renewable energy.^[4] In late 2017, the government experienced a parliamentary eligibility crisis that saw fifteen parliamentarians forced out of Parliament due to concerns about dual citizenship.

To address climate change and reform energy policy, in August 2018 Turnbull proposed the National Energy Guarantee. Although initially agreed to by the Cabinet, the policy was ultimately rejected by the party room. This, combined with poor opinion polling, led to Peter Dutton challenging Turnbull for the Liberal leadership. Although Turnbull defeated Dutton in the party room, a majority of MPs demanded a second spill, which Turnbull did not contest. On 24 August 2018, Scott Morrison defeated Dutton and Julie Bishop in the contest, and replaced Turnbull as prime minister. Turnbull resigned from Parliament, triggering a by-election in his former seat of Wentworth.^[5] The Liberal Party lost the by-election to independent candidate Kerryn Phelps, which resulted in the Coalition losing its absolute majority in the House of Representatives.

Since retiring from politics, Turnbull has become an advisor to Kasada, an Australian cybersecurity start-up.^[6] He has been critical of the direction of the Liberal Party, and has joined with his former opponent Kevin Rudd in criticising the dominance of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp in Australian political debate.