Premier of Tasmania

Premier of Tasmania
Incumbent Will Hodgman since 31 March 2014
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Governor of Tasmania
Term length	At the Governor's pleasure
Inaugural holder	William Champ
Formation	1 November 1856

The Premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly will nominate its leader to be Premier. The nominated politician is then invited by the Governor of Tasmania to act as their principal adviser.^[1]

Before the 1890s, there was no formal party system in Tasmania. Party labels before that time indicate a general tendency only. The current convention of appointing the Premier from the House of Assembly was not generally applied prior to 1920, with Premiers often appointed from the Legislative Council.^[1]

The incumbent Premier of Tasmania since the 2014 election is Will Hodgman of the Liberal Party of Australia.

List of Premiers of Tasmania

No.	Name	Party	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	William Champ		1 November 1856	26 February 1857	117 days
2	Thomas Gregson		26 February 1857	25 April 1857	58 days
3	William Weston		25 April 1857	12 May 1857	17 days
4	Francis Smith		12 May 1857	1 November 1860	3 years, 173 days
—	William Weston		1 November 1860	2 August 1861	274 days
5	Thomas Chapman		2 August 1861	20 January 1863	1 year, 171 days
6	James Whyte		20 January 1863	24 November 1866	3 years, 308 days
7	Sir Richard Dry		24 November 1866	4 August 1869	2 years, 253 days
8	James Wilson		4 August 1869	4 November 1872	3 years, 92 days
9	Frederick Innes		4 November 1872	4 August 1873	273 days
10	Alfred Kennerley		4 August 1873	20 July 1876	2 years, 351 days
11	Thomas Reibey		20 July 1876	9 August 1877	1 year, 20 days
12	Philip Fysh		9 August 1877	5 March 1878	208 days
13	William Giblin		5 March 1878	20 December 1878	290 days
14	William Crowther		20 December 1878	30 October 1879	314 days
—	William Giblin		30 October 1879	15 August 1884	4 years, 290 days
15	Adye Douglas		15 August 1884	8 March 1886	1 year, 205 days
16	James Agnew		8 March 1886	29 March 1887	1 year, 21 days
—	Philip Fysh	Liberal	29 March 1887	17 August 1892	5 years, 141 days
17	Henry Dobson	Conservative	17 August 1892	14 April 1894	1 year, 240 days
18	Sir Edward Braddon	Liberal / Free Trade	14 April 1894	12 October 1899	5 years, 181 days
19	Elliott Lewis	Conservative	12 October 1899	9 April 1903	3 years, 179 days
20	William Propsting	Liberal	9 April 1903	12 July 1904	1 year, 94 days
21	John Evans	Conservative	12 July 1904	19 June 1909	4 years, 342 days
—	Sir Elliott Lewis	Liberal	19 June 1909	20 October 1909	123 days
22	John Earle	Labor	20 October 1909	27 October 1909	7 days
—	Sir Elliott Lewis	Commonwealth Liberal	27 October 1909	14 June 1912	2 years, 231 days
23	Albert Solomon		14 June 1912	6 April 1914	1 year, 296 days
—	John Earle	Labor	6 April 1914	15 April 1916	2 years, 9 days
24	Walter Lee	Commonwealth Liberal, Nationalist	15 April 1916	12 August 1922	6 years, 119 days
25	John Hayes	Nationalist	12 August 1922	14 August 1923	1 year, 2 days
—	Sir Walter Lee		14 August 1923	25 October 1923	72 days
26	Joseph Lyons	Labor	25 October 1923	15 June 1928	4 years, 234 days
27	John McPhee	Nationalist	15 June 1928	15 March 1934	5 years, 273 days
—	Sir Walter Lee		15 March 1934	22 June 1934	99 days
28	Albert Ogilvie	Labor	22 June 1934	10 June 1939	4 years, 354 days
29	Edmund Dwyer-Gray		11 June 1939	18 December 1939	190 days
30	Robert Cosgrove		18 December 1939	18 December 1947	8 years, 0 days
31	Edward Brooker		18 December 1947	25 February 1948	69 days
—	Robert Cosgrove		25 February 1948	26 August 1958	10 years, 182 days
32	Eric Reece		26 August 1958	26 May 1969	10 years, 273 days
33	Angus Bethune	Liberal	26 May 1969	3 May 1972	2 years, 343 days
—	Eric Reece	Labor	3 May 1972	31 March 1975	2 years, 332 days
34	Bill Neilson		31 March 1975	1 December 1977	2 years, 245 days
35	Doug Lowe		1 December 1977	11 November 1981	3 years, 345 days
36	Harry Holgate		11 November 1981	26 May 1982	196 days
37	Robin Gray	Liberal	26 May 1982	29 June 1989	7 years, 34 days
38	Michael Field	Labor	29 June 1989	17 February 1992	2 years, 233 days
39	Ray Groom	Liberal	17 February 1992	18 March 1996	4 years, 30 days
40	Tony Rundle		18 March 1996	14 September 1998	2 years, 180 days
41	Jim Bacon	Labor	14 September 1998	21 March 2004	5 years, 189 days
42	Paul Lennon		21 March 2004	26 May 2008	4 years, 66 days
43	David Bartlett		26 May 2008	24 January 2011	2 years, 243 days
44	Lara Giddings		24 January 2011	31 March 2014	3 years, 66 days
45	Will Hodgman	Liberal	31 March 2014	present	2 years, 39 days

Graphical timeline

Living former premiers

As of 24 January 2011, eight former premiers are alive, the oldest being Tony Rundle (1996–98, born 1939). The most recent premier to die was Sir Angus Bethune (1969–72), on 27 August 2004. The most recently serving premier to die was Jim Bacon (1998–2004), on 20 June 2004.

Name	Term as premier	Date of birth
Doug Lowe	1977–1981	15 May 1942
Robin Gray	1982–1989	1 March 1940
Michael Field	1989–1992	28 May 1948
Ray Groom	1992–1996	3 September 1944
Tony Rundle	1996–1998	5 March 1939
Paul Lennon	2004–2008	8 October 1955
David Bartlett	2008–2011	19 January 1968
Lara Giddings	2011–2014	14 November 1972

See also

• List of Premiers of Tasmania by time in office
• Leader of the Opposition (Tasmania)
• Governors of Tasmania

Notes

1. Premier and Leader of the Opposition, Tasmanian Parliamentary Library.

External links

• PREMIERS OF TASMANIA Parliament of Tasmania