Malcolm Turnbull (b. 1954) was a lawyer, journalist and businessman who rose to national prominence as head of the Australian Republican Movement, and played a leading role in the campaign for a republic at the 1999 referendum. In 2004 he was elected to the House of Representatives for the inner-Sydney seat of Wentworth, and entered the ministry as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with Special Responsibility for Water Policy in 2006. In 2007 he was promoted directly into Cabinet as Minister for the Environment and Water Resources. When the Coalition lost office in November 2007, Turnbull stood for the leadership of the Liberal Party but was defeated by Brendan Nelson. He became Shadow Treasurer until 2008, when he challenged Nelson for the leadership and won. As Opposition Leader he supported the Rudd government’s Emissions Trading Scheme, a move which saw his Families spokesman Tony Abbott resign, and then defeat Turnbull in a leadership challenge. Turnbull became Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband, and then when the Abbott government took office in September 2013 he became Minister for Communications, with responsibility for the National Broadband Network.

He became Australia’s 29th Prime Minister on 14 September after successfully challenging Tony Abbott for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Malcolm Turnbull becomes Prime Minister