Australia is a relatively young country; we've only had 48 parliamentary elections. In that time, by any measure, Robert Menzies was and remains Australia's most beloved politician. Bob Hawke, with his nearly nine years in office, runs a very close second. Those two leaders top our list of famous Australian politicians, which is loaded with fascinating personalities.
| Politician | Political Party | Time in office |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Menzies | the United Australia Party the Liberal Party of Australia | 1939 - 1941 1949 - 1966 |
| Bob Hawke | the Australian Labor Party | 1973 - 1991 |
| Gough Whitlam | the Australian Labor Party | 1972 - 1975 |
| Harold Holt | the Liberal Party of Australia | 1966 - 1967 |
| John Curtin | the Australian Labor Party | 1941 - 1945 |
| Kevin Rudd | the Australian Labor Party | 2007 - 2010 2013 |
| Julia Gillard | the Australian Labor Party | 2010 - 2013 |
| Penny Wong | the Australian Labor Party | 2013 - present |
| Annastacia Palaszczuk | the Australian Labor Party | 2015 - 2023 |
| Sussan Ley | the Liberal Party of Australia | 2001 - present |
| Pauline Henson | One Nation | 1994 - present |
Robert Menzies
Before we start our list of famous Australian politicians, we share where we got our information from. The website Pantheon collects biographical data from around the world, arranging those statistics in searchable, easy-to-read form. We relied on Pantheon only in part, while drawing on other sources.
According to Pantheon's Historical Popularity Index (HPI), Sir Robert Menzies is only the 10th most famous Australian politician. However, his unrivalled 18 years as prime minister prove he was far more popular than Pantheon gives him credit for. In fact, it would likely surprise no one if he appeared on one of our Australian bank notes one day.
As the leader of the United Australia Party, Sir Menzies held office from April 1939 to August 1941. He took the lead again in December 1949 until his resignation in January 1966.
His first resignation was in protest over war funding. His cabinet fought Sir Menzies' second resignation, but at age 71, he was ready to step down.
Bob Hawke
According to Pantheon, Bob Hawke is the 8th most famous Australian politician. However, any Australian will tell you he's still our favourite Labor party leader and, indeed, one of the most famous Australians in history. His political career spanned 22 years.
September 1969 - September 1980
President of the Council of Trade Unions
June 1973 to August 1978
National President of the Labor Party
October 1980 to February 1992
Member of Parliament (MP) representing Wills
February 1983 to December 1991
Prime Minister
Also the Labor Party leader during that time
This timeline proves Bob's popularity and success as a politician. After all, if he wasn't doing a good job, would he have been elected and reelected?
Bob received a 75% approval rating in 1984. To this day, that's the highest rating any Australian prime minister has earned.
Gough Whitlam
Sometimes, famous Australian politicians are renowned for trouble rather than any good things they might have done. Such is the case with Gough Whitlam, who did many good things while in office. But he also did a few bad things. For his controversial legacy, Pantheon places this prime minister in their top spot of famous leaders.
👍The good of Gough Whitlam
- ended military conscription
- established universal healthcare
- withdrew Australian troops from the Vietnam war
- set up legal aid programmes
- started free higher education
👎The bad of Gough Whitlam
- instituted the only joint sitting in Parliament
- poor economic management
- the Loans Affair (trying to borrow money from the Middle East)
- presided over a deadlocked parliament
With such a track record and with the opposition fighting him at every turn, the Whitlam government scored few legislative wins. As a result, Australia's royal representative had no choice but to take action.
In 1975, The Governor-General, the monarch's representative, dismissed Gough Whitlam from his post. Today, he remains the only Australian prime minister to be removed from office.
Harold Holt
Pantheon ranks Gough Whitlam so highly because his government and actions were controversial. That means more people study him than any other Australian politician.
Harold Holt also generates interest, less for his government policies than for his mysterious disappearance. That places him among the icons of Australian personalities.
Harold's political career spanned 32 years. During that time, he served in various positions, including as MP, a cabinet member during the Menzies government, treasurer and, ultimately, prime minister.
He was a member of the United Australia political party until it disbanded.
He then allied himself with the Liberal Party. It must have been challenging to take the lead after Robert Menzies stepped down. Still, Harold did a fair job of things, continuing his predecessor's agenda.
He won his election in a landslide, proving he and his government were on the right track despite a spot of economic trouble. But then, he disappeared and, ever since, Australians have wondered what happened to him.
John Curtin
This entry on our famous Australian politicians list is the second one we feature who died in office. Pantheon assigns him a score of 59.26, making him the sixth most famous Australian politician.
Even his opponents regarded this Labor politician as one of Australia's best leaders and a man of quality and integrity.
Mr Curtin gets a lot of credit for steering Australia through the Second World War. For all that, he was quite the contrarian, even suffering jail time for failing to follow orders.
John Curtin was not what some might call a natural politician. He never played to his audience, nor was he particularly charismatic. As a result, he failed to win the first three elections he stood for.
Once in office, though, he proved himself a capable leader, keeping his position until his death.
Besides John Curtin and Harold Holt (who is presumed dead), Joseph Lyons died in office.
The 10th Prime Minister suffered a fatal heart attack during his seventh year in office; he was the first Australian political leader to die while holding office.
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd's political career peaked in 2007 when he led the Australian Labor Party to a decisive victory over Prime Minister John Howard, ending over a decade of Liberal rule. A former public servant and diplomat, Rudd quickly made his mark by issuing a historic apology to Indigenous Australians and ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, signalling a shift in Australia’s stance on climate change and reconciliation.
In 2008, the Global Financial Crisis presented a major challenge, and Rudd's government responded with one of the world’s largest stimulus packages. This swift action helped Australia avoid the recession that gripped many other developed nations, earning him high approval ratings and international recognition for his leadership during turbulent times.
However, his popularity declined due to internal party tensions and policy debates, particularly over climate change and a proposed mining tax. These issues led to his removal as Prime Minister by his own colleagues in 2010.
Rudd briefly returned to the role in 2013 before Labor’s election defeat. He is now serving as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, a post he assumed in 2023.
Famous Australian Female Politicians
Like many countries, Australia was slow to tolerate women in politics; we elected our first female head of government only in 1989. Rosemary Follett became the 1st Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) that year. With her election, the dam burst, but women have yet to flood into top political positions despite filling the lower ranks of the Australian government.
Of those, eight led state governments as premiers, seven served as Chief Minister for their territory, and one became Prime Minister. So few in number are famous Australian female politicians that Pantheon doesn't list a single one. Still, this handful of women has made their mark on Australian history.
Julia Gillard
Suspicions still linger about the Gillard government and how Julia came to power. There's no doubt that the Rudd government gave Julia a platform. Julia calling for a leadership vote as her mentor's ratings flagged came as a complete surprise to everyone, including PM Rudd. Indeed, Rudd reclaimed the ministership in 2013, but only for a few months.
Penny Wong
It would not be wrong to say that Senator Wong was destined for a politician's career. Her interest in politics began while she was still at university. Her activism spanned many causes, including higher education reform, labour policy and preserving Australian multiculturalism.
She didn't leap into politics immediately, though. She practised law for six years before winning her election to the Senate. Her background and involvement in environmental law made Penny a natural fit for Kevin Rudd's newly created Minister for Climate Change post. Since then, this Labor politician has worked to build bridges with other nations.
Annastacia Palaszczuk
Annastacia belongs on every list of famous female Australian politicians for all the 'firsts' she's racked up.
Ms Palaszczuk was the first woman to win the Queensland premiership from the opposition side of the house. She's also the first female premier to win reelection. During her tenure, she presided over the first majority-female cabinet in Australian history.
Annastacia served three terms as premier, a feat for female politicians in Australia. Her political career spanned 17 years, during which she oversaw election reform initiatives and many environmental policies.
However, she stirred controversy by supporting coal mining, considering her stance on environmental issues.
Sussan Ley
Like Annastacia, Sussan is a political leader of many firsts. She is currently the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, and the leader of the Liberal Party, the first time a woman has held either role.
Sussan came under scrutiny for possible misuses of travel allowances. She resigned her post in the Turnbull Ministry but reclaimed her seat for the Morrison government.
Sussan's political career began in 2001, making her the longest-serving politician on our list (except for Robert Menzies). And she shows no sign of slowing down.
Pauline Henson
Like Sussan, Pauline leads a political party. Her platform seems rather extreme and, to some, downright distasteful. She began her political career in 1994 but soon courted controversy with some of her positions.
Ms Henson stands for far-right populism. She is anti-immigration and rejects multiculturalism.
If nothing else, Pauline is a colourful character. She has a way of delivering sharp soundbites (please explain!) that make her the centre of attention. She provoked many protests, particularly earlier in her political career. Fortunately, Australians are (mostly) far too sensible to give One Nation much room to grow.
Notably, no Indigenous Australians, famous or otherwise, have taken any leadership positions so far. If Pauline has her way, that will continue to be the case.
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