Premier of Queensland

Premier of Queensland
State badge of Queensland
Incumbent Annastacia Palaszczuk since 14 February 2015
Style	The Honourable
Member of	Australian Labor Party
Seat	Inala
Appointer	Governor of Queensland Paul de Jersey
Term length	At Her Majesty's pleasure
Inaugural holder	Robert Herbert
Formation	10 December 1859
Salary	$380,000 per annum
Website	www.thepremier.qld.gov.au

The Premier of Queensland is the head of government in the state of Queensland, Australia.

By convention the Premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The Premier is appointed by the Governor of Queensland.

The current Premier is Annastacia Palaszczuk of the Australian Labor Party, who was sworn in as Premier on 14 February 2015, following the 2015 state election.

Constitutional role

Under section 42 of the Constitution of Queensland the Premier and other members of Cabinet are appointed by the Governor and are collectively responsible to Parliament. The text of the Constitution assigns to the Premier certain powers, such as the power to assign roles (s. 25) to Assistant Ministers (formerly known as Parliamentary Secretaries), and to appoint Ministers as acting Ministers (s. 45) for a period of 14 days.

In practice, under the conventions of the Westminster System followed in Queensland, the Premier's power is derived from two sources: command of a majority in the Legislative Assembly, and the Premier's role as chair of Cabinet, determining the appointment and roles of Ministers. Although ministerial appointments are the prerogative of the Governor of Queensland, in normal circumstances the Governor will make these appointments under the "advice" (in reality, direction) of the Premier.

Immediately following an election for the Legislative Assembly, the Governor will call on the leader of the party which commands a majority in the Legislative Assembly, and ask them to commission a government. A re-elected government will be resworn, with adjustments to the ministry as determined by the Premier.

Premier's office

The Premier has an office in the Executive Annexe of Parliament House, Brisbane, which is normally used while Parliament is sitting. At other times the Premier's ministerial office is in the Executive Building a short distance down George Street.

List of Premiers of Queensland

Before the 1890s, there was no developed party system in Queensland. Political affiliation labels before that time indicate a general tendency only. Before the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, political parties were more akin to parliamentary factions, and were fluid, informal and disorganised by modern standards.

	Name	Portrait	Took Office	Affiliation
1st	Robert Herbert		10 December 1859	none
2nd	Arthur Macalister		1 February 1866	none
_	Robert Herbert (second time)		20 July 1866	none
_	Arthur Macalister (second time)		7 August 1866	none
3rd	Robert Mackenzie		15 August 1867	none
4th	Charles Lilley		25 November 1868	none
5th	Arthur Palmer		3 May 1870	none
_	Arthur Macalister, CMG (third time)		8 January 1874	none
6th	George Thorn		5 June 1876	none
7th	John Douglas, CMG		8 March 1877	none
8th	Sir Thomas McIlwraith, KCMG		21 January 1879	Conservative
9th	Sir Samuel Griffith, KCMG, QC		13 November 1883	Liberal
_	Sir Thomas McIlwraith, KCMG (second time)		13 June 1888	Conservative
10th	Boyd Dunlop Morehead		30 November 1888	Conservative
_	Sir Samuel Griffith, KCMG, QC (second time)		12 August 1890	Ministerial
_	Sir Thomas McIlwraith, KCMG (third time)		27 March 1893	Ministerial
11th	Sir Hugh Nelson, KCMG		27 October 1893	Ministerial
12th	Thomas Joseph Byrnes		13 April 1898	Ministerial
13th	James Dickson		1 October 1898	Ministerial
14th	Anderson Dawson		1 December 1899	Labour
15th	Sir Robert Philp, KCMG		7 December 1899	Ministerial
16th	Arthur Morgan		17 September 1903	Liberal
17th	William Kidston		19 January 1906	Labour; Kidston
_	Sir Robert Philp, KCMG (second time)		19 November 1907	Conservative
_	William Kidston (second time)		18 February 1908	Kidston; Ministerial
18th	Digby Denham		7 February 1911	Ministerial
19th	Thomas Joseph Ryan, KC		1 June 1915	Labor
20th	Ted Theodore		22 October 1919	Labor
21st	William Gillies		26 February 1925	Labor
22nd	William McCormack		22 October 1925	Labor
23rd	Arthur Edward Moore, CMG		21 May 1929	CPNP
24th	William Forgan Smith		17 June 1932	Labor
25th	Frank Cooper		16 September 1942	Labor
26th	Ned Hanlon		7 March 1946	Labor
27th	Vince Gair		17 January 1952	Labor; QLP
28th	Sir Francis Nicklin, KCMG, MM		12 August 1957	Country
29th	Jack Pizzey		17 January 1968	Country
30th	Sir Gordon Chalk, KBE		1 August 1968	Liberal
31st	Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG		8 August 1968	Country/National
32nd	Mike Ahern		1 December 1987	National
33rd	Russell Cooper		25 September 1989	National
34th	Wayne Goss		7 December 1989	Labor
35th	Rob Borbidge		19 February 1996	National
36th	Peter Beattie		20 June 1998	Labor
37th	Anna Bligh		13 September 2007	Labor
38th	Campbell Newman		26 March 2012	Liberal National
39th	Annastacia Palaszczuk		14 February 2015	Labor

Living former premiers

As of February 2015, six former premiers are alive, the oldest being Russell Cooper (1989, born 1941). The most recent premier to die was Wayne Goss (1951–2014), on 10 November 2014.

Name	Term as premier	Date of birth
Mike Ahern	1987–1989	(1942-06-02) 2 June 1942
Russell Cooper	1989	(1941-02-04) 4 February 1941
Rob Borbidge	1996–1998	(1954-08-12) 12 August 1954
Peter Beattie	1998–2007	(1952-11-18) 18 November 1952
Anna Bligh	2007–2012	(1960-07-14) 14 July 1960
Campbell Newman	2012–2015	(1963-08-12) 12 August 1963

Graphical timeline

See also

• List of Premiers of Queensland by time in office
• Government of Queensland
• Politics of Queensland