Tony Abbott

Anthony John Abbott (born 4 November 1957) is an Australian politician. He served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He was also the leader of the Liberal Party. He was the member of Parliament (MP) for the New South Wales area of Warringah from 1994 to 2019. He is now the president of the Liberal Party.

Abbott was born in England. He studied economics and law at the University of Sydney. After that, he went to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Before he entered politics, he trained for a short time to become a priest. He also worked in journalism and as an adviser. He joined parliament at the 1994 Warringah by-election. He then rose up within the Howard government, where he held several ministerial jobs, including Health and Ageing.

In 2009, Abbott challenged Malcolm Turnbull for the party leadership in a leadership spill. Turnbull had supported the Labor Party's Emissions Trading Scheme, and Abbott won. He then led the Coalition at the 2010 federal election. That result left no party with a clear majority, creating a hung parliament. He later led the Coalition to a landslide victory at the 2013 election.

As prime minister, Abbott's government started Operation Sovereign Borders. It also removed the carbon pricing scheme and the mining tax. The government also introduced austerity measures to cut spending. Several new programs were started, including the Medical Research Future Fund and the New Colombo Plan. The government also made trade agreements with China, Japan and South Korea. Abbott sent troops to help fight against ISIS. He also promised to take in 12,000 Syrian refugees. In Australia, he supported constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians. He also supported a plebiscite, a public vote, on same-sex marriage.

Many people criticised Abbott's leadership. Some of the budget cuts were unpopular, and public support for him fell. This led to his replacement by Malcolm Turnbull in 2015. He stayed in parliament until he lost his seat at the 2019 election to the independent Zali Steggall. In 2020, Abbott was appointed to the UK Board of Trade. He still takes part in public discussions as a writer and speaker, where he supports conservative views. In 2026, he was elected federal president of the Liberal Party. This is mainly an administrative role within the party.

For other people named Tony Abbott, see Tony Abbott (disambiguation).

Early life

Abbott was born on 4 November 1957 at the General Lying-In Hospital in Lambeth, London, England. He is the oldest of four children. His sister Christine Forster has also worked in politics. In 1960, his family moved to Australia on the SS Oronsay as part of the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme. They settled in Sydney, first in Bronte and later in Chatswood. His father, Dick Abbott, built one of the largest orthodontics practices in Australia. Abbott went to St Aloysius' College in Milsons Point and then to St Ignatius' College, Riverview. Both are Jesuit schools. One of his teachers there, John Kennedy, later became the member for Hawthorn.

Abbott studied at the University of Sydney, where he lived at St John's College. He was president of the Student Representative Council. He earned degrees in economics and law. He then went to The Queen's College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics. At university, he spoke out against the left-wing student leaders of the time. He also supported Governor-General John Kerr after Kerr dismissed the Whitlam government. Abbott met B. A. Santamaria, and later said Santamaria's ideas influenced him. Abbott also boxed as a student and earned Blues for boxing at Oxford. In 1984, he joined St Patrick's Seminary to train as a priest, but he left in 1987. After that, he worked as a journalist. He wrote for Honi Soit, The Catholic Weekly, The Bulletin, and The Australian. In 1993, he gave up his British citizenship so he could run for parliament under section 44 of the constitution.

Political career

Tony Abbott started his public life as a journalist for The Bulletin, a well-known news magazine, and later for The Australian newspaper. He made friends with important people in the New South Wales Labor Party. Bob Carr and Johno Johnson encouraged him to join Labor, but he felt that Labor "just wasn't the party for me." From 1990 to 1993, he was press secretary to Liberal Leader John Hewson, where he helped develop the Fightback! policy. John Howard recommended him for the job. After the 1993 election and the re-election of the Keating government, Abbott was asked to lead Australians for Constitutional Monarchy. This was the main group supporting the Monarchy in Australia, while the Keating government campaigned for a republic. In 1994, Howard suggested he seek preselection for the Division of Warringah by-election in March 1994, after Michael MacKellar resigned. Abbott won the safe Liberal seat in the Northern Beaches area and easily won it again at the 1996 general election.

As a member of Parliament, Abbott held several government jobs. He was Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Small Business in 2001 and Leader of the House from 2002 to 2007. In 1998, he set up a fund to help pay for court cases against the One Nation Party and its leader Pauline Hanson. As Minister for Employment Services, he oversaw the Job Network and the Work for the Dole scheme, and he ordered the Cole Royal Commission. From 2003 to 2007, he was Minister for Health. During this time, the Australian Medical Association threatened to take all Australian doctors out of the system, and Abbott worked with the states to keep it running. He also introduced the Medicare Safety Net. In 2005, he visited people who had been hurt in the Bali bombings in hospital. Abbott opposed the government's WorkChoices reforms in Cabinet, but the Howard government lost the 2007 election. After the Coalition lost power, Abbott nominated for the position of party leader but withdrew, and Brendan Nelson became leader in December 2007. Abbott became the shadow minister for families and Indigenous affairs. He wrote the book Battlelines and criticised Kevin Rudd over the Oceanic Viking affair. In November 2009, he resigned from his shadow ministerial jobs over the Liberal Party's position on the Emissions trading Scheme.

Leader of the Opposition (2009–2013)

On 1 December 2009, Abbott was elected to the position of Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. He beat Turnbull and Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey. In December 2009 he named his Shadow Cabinet. He strongly opposed carbon pricing and called it a "great big new tax on everything." His own plan, Direct Action, offered money to businesses and farmers to cut pollution. He also spent time in remote Cape York Aboriginal communities, working with activist Noel Pearson. In 2010 he completed an Ironman Triathlon at Port Macquarie, New South Wales. That year he also announced a plan for six months of paid parental leave.

Main article: 2010 Australian federal election

On 24 June 2010, Julia Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd as Labor leader and prime minister. In the 2010 election, Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the House of Representatives. This was four seats short of a majority government. It led to the first hung parliament since the 1940 election. Gillard formed a minority government. The Coalition got about 49.88 percent of the two party preferred vote. Later, Abbott opposed Gillard's plan for a "carbon tax" and asked for an election on the issue. In 2012 he spoke to the National Press Club about his plans for government. That same year, Prime Minister Gillard accused him of being unfair to women and of being hypocritical in a speech to Parliament that gained international notice.

Prime minister (2013–2015)

Main article: Abbott government

Main article: February 2015 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill motion

Main article: September 2015 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill

In the federal election on 7 September 2013, Abbott led the Liberal–National Coalition to win against the Labor government, which was led by Kevin Rudd. He and his ministry took office on 18 September 2013. Some people criticised him because only one woman, Julie Bishop, was in his cabinet. On the first day of Parliament, he introduced a bill to end the carbon tax. He also started Operation Sovereign Borders, which aimed to stop asylum seekers from arriving by boat. Many people supported this plan. In February 2014, he announced a Royal Commission into trade union governance and corruption. Later, the Fair Work Act was changed, and a "Repeal Day" removed more than 10,000 "red tape" rules. His government also made free trade agreements with Japan, South Korea and China. After talks with the Palmer United Party, the carbon tax and mining tax repeal bills passed Parliament in 2014.

The 2014 Australian federal budget was the government's first. Treasurer Joe Hockey delivered it, but many people said it was "cruel" and "unfair". Many of its plans were blocked in the Senate. In March 2014, Abbott said he had advised the Queen to bring back knights and dames in the Order of Australia. Former governor-general Quentin Bryce and her successor Peter Cosgrove were the first to receive these honours. On Australia Day 2015, Abbott announced that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh would become a Knight of the Order of Australia. Many people disagreed with this decision. On 6 February 2015, Luke Simpkins called for a leadership spill. It was defeated on 9 February by 61 votes to 39. After attacks by Islamic State, Abbott said "Isis is at war with Australia." Australian forces joined Operation Okra at the request of Barack Obama. Aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force and 400 personnel took part in the mission, which was part of Operation Inherent Resolve. In July 2015, Bronwyn Bishop, whom Abbott had nominated as Speaker of the House, faced criticism for how she used money meant for official travel. This included a helicopter flight to a party fundraiser. She resigned on 2 August 2015.

At this time, Australian law still said that marriage was only between a man and a woman. Abbott did not support changing this. On 11 August 2015, Coalition MPs voted against a free vote on same-sex marriage in Australia. Abbott proposed a national plebiscite instead. It was later held in 2017 under the Turnbull government. On 14 September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull challenged Abbott for the leadership and won by 54 votes to 44. According to The Economist, Abbott lost his position because many people were unhappy with him in opinion polls, his government had weak economic management, and there were several political mistakes and scandals. Some critics and experts think he was one of Australia's worst prime ministers.

Later years in parliament (2015–2019)

Further information: Turnbull government

Further information: Morrison government

In 2015, Malcolm Turnbull challenged Abbott for leadership of the Liberal Party and won. Abbott went back to being an ordinary member of Parliament and said he would stay there. Turnbull did not give him a job in the new government. Abbott kept speaking up in support of his government's record. After attacks in Paris in November 2015, Turnbull backed a call from Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for a "revolution in Islam." He talked about this on Sky News Australia. In 2016, Abbott ran again for the Division of Warringah and won. Later, he warned that the Turnbull government could "drift to defeat." He also said that some of Turnbull's supporters had plotted against him. Before the 2017 postal survey on same sex marriage, Abbott wanted things to stay as they were. After the "yes" vote, he said he accepted the result. In 2018, Turnbull resigned during the Liberal leadership spills of 2018. Abbott supported Peter Dutton in the vote for leader.

After Turnbull resigned, Scott Morrison made Abbott Special Envoy on Indigenous Affairs. His job was to look at school attendance and how well students were doing. In December 2018, Abbott gave his first report to Parliament. He suggested higher pay and bonuses to keep teachers in very remote areas. He also supported expanding Noel Pearson's Good to Great Schools program. In the 2019 federal election, Abbott lost Warringah to an independent candidate, Zali Steggall, who was a former Olympic skier. It was the first time the Liberals, and the parties before them, had lost this seat since it was created in 1922. Abbott had been the Member for Warringah for 25 years.

Post-parliamentary career

Abbott has been on the board of the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation since 2016. In 2019 he joined the board of the Australian War Memorial. On 4 September 2020, Abbott was made an adviser to the UK's Board of Trade. The stated aim was to give "a range of views to help in its advisory function, promoting free and fair trade and advising on UK trade policy to the International Trade Secretary". The job involves advising on international trade deals for the UK. It was reported that he would not advise the government on the country's Brexit process. Other senior people on the board include Patricia Hewitt, a former UK Secretary of State for Health, Daniel Hannan, a former Member of the European Parliament, and Linda Yueh, a writer and broadcaster. When the news came out, UK Opposition politicians asked whether he was suitable, because of things Abbott had said in the past about climate change, women and same-sex marriage. Boris Johnson, the UK's prime minister, said he could not agree with everyone in his government. He said Abbott had been elected prime minister by that "great, liberal democratic nation of Australia", which he said "speaks for itself". In 2024 Abbott said no to an interview for ABC's Nemesis television documentary. The show looked back at the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments. He was the first former prime minister to decline, in the three decades that the ABC has made these looks back at Australian governments. When Cardinal Pell died in 2023, Abbott called him a "saint for our times".

In 2025 Abbott helped encourage Jacinta Price to run for the deputy leadership after the federal election, believing it would energise the party's base. After the Liberal-National Coalition split in 2026, Abbott has been encouraging members of the National Right faction to spill the leadership of the Liberal Party. A spill happened a month later. After the death of Senator Jim Molan, former Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger suggested on Sky News Australia that Abbott could take Molan's Senate seat. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told ABC News that there was "no question Tony Abbott would be an asset", but he also said "there will be many other candidates who are very credible as well". Abbott was not chosen for the Senate vacancy.

Abbott also holds several board roles. In February 2023 he joined the board of the UK think-tank Global Warming Policy Foundation, which is known for its climate change scepticism. As of July 2023 he is a senior advisor at New Direction, a think tank linked to the European Conservatives and Reformists Party in the European Parliament. In November 2023 he was appointed to a board seat at Fox Corporation, the day after Rupert Murdoch announced his retirement.

In May 2026 Abbott announced he would run to become Liberal Party president with the backing of Liberal leader Angus Taylor. Former leader Alexander Downer, who had been expected to challenge him, decided to run for a vice-president position instead, leaving Abbott as the only nominee. He was elected president unopposed on 29 May.

Political views

Abbott is a member of the National Right group within the Liberal Party. Some media outlets have used the term "Abbottism" for his political ideas. They compare it to Hansonism, the views of Pauline Hanson, and Trumpism, the views of Donald Trump. Abbott is interested in Indigenous affairs and worked with Cape York Aboriginal activist Noel Pearson. He opposed the Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the 2023 referendum. He said it would divide Australians. Abbott supports the Australian monarchy. He once worked as executive director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy. He also opposed laws for same-sex marriage in Australia and was against the National Broadband Network.

On climate change, Abbott said he believed the climate was changing and that humans were having an impact. However, he opposed carbon pricing as a way to deal with it. When he was opposition leader, he helped the Liberal Party reject the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. Abbott also called the AUKUS defence agreement "the biggest decision that any Australian government has made in decades". He strongly supports the recognition of Taiwan as an independent nation.

Personal life

In March 2020, an Australian computer security researcher found Abbott's passport number and personal phone number. Abbott had posted a photo of his boarding pass on Instagram. The researcher had found a security flaw in the online check-in system of the airline Qantas. The flaw showed private details from the information on the pass.

In September 2021, during the second COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney, Abbott was fined $500 for not wearing a mask. This broke health rules.

When Abbott was 22, a girlfriend told him she was expecting a baby and said he was the father. They did not marry, and the child was adopted by another family. For 27 years, Abbott believed he was the child's father. In 2004, the man contacted Abbott. It was made public that he worked as a sound recordist for the ABC at Parliament House, Canberra. Later DNA testing showed that Abbott was not his father.

After leaving the seminary, Abbott married Margaret "Margie" Aitken, a New Zealander who was working in Sydney. They have three daughters, Louise, Bridget and Frances. They became grandparents in 2021.

Abbott is a Roman Catholic. Before the 2013 election, he said the Jesuits taught him to be "a man for others." He said his faith has shaped his life but does not decide his politics. As a former seminarian, Abbott's religiosity has drawn national attention. Journalists often ask him about religion in politics.

John Warhurst of the Australian National University said some academics had focused too much on Abbott's religious background. Michelle Grattan wrote in 2010 that Abbott has always "worn his Catholicism on his sleeve." She said he is frustrated by how much attention it gets. Abbott has said that politicians should explain their decisions publicly, not just based on private beliefs.

Some church leaders have criticised parts of his policies. Abbott replied that priests have the power to turn bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. He said this does not give them the power to turn poor logic into good logic.

Community service

Abbott is an active volunteer member of the Davidson, NSW Rural Fire Service. He is also an active volunteer member of the Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club. He takes part in the Pollie Pedal, a yearly 1,000 km charity bike ride. In April 2007, he started the tenth yearly Pollie Pedal to raise money for breast cancer research.

In 2008, Abbott spent three weeks teaching at a remote Aboriginal settlement in Coen on Cape York. He worked with Indigenous leader Noel Pearson. He taught reading to Aboriginal children and helped a group that worked with families to manage their money. In 2009, he spent 10 days in Aurukun on Cape York. He worked with a team that visited children who had not been going to school. He said his goal was to learn more about Indigenous issues.

Writings

Abbott has written five books. In 2009, he published Battlelines. It tells part of his own story, looks back at the Howard government, and suggests ideas for the Liberal Party of Australia. Before that, he wrote two books about the constitutional monarchy that Australia uses: The Minimal Monarchy and How to Win the Constitutional War.

In 2012, he released A Strong Australia, a collection of important speeches from that year. His 2025 book, Australia – A History: How an ancient land became a great democracy, has a foreword by Geoffrey Blainey. A three-part documentary was released with it on Sky News Australia.

• Abbott, Tony (1995). The Minimal Monarchy: and why it still makes sense for Australia. Kent Town South Australia: Wakefield Press. ISBN 1-86254-358-5.
• — (1997). How to Win the Constitutional War: and give both sides what they want. Kent Town South Australia: Wakefield Press. ISBN 1-86254-433-6.
• — (2009). Battlelines. Carlton Victoria Australia: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 978-0-522-85606-4.
• — (2012). A Strong Australia. Liberal Party of Australia. ISBN 978-0-646-59033-2.
• — (2025). Australia – A History: How an ancient land became a great democracy. HarperCollins. ISBN 9781460768297.

Honours

Tony Abbott has received several national honours from Australia. In 2001 he was given the Centenary Medal for his work as Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. In 2018 he received the National Medal (Australia) for 15 years of service as a volunteer firefighter. In 2020 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia for his service to the people and Parliament of Australia, especially as prime minister. This honour also recognised his work on trade, border control, and the Indigenous community. In 2025 he received the National Emergency Medal.

He has also received honours from outside the national level. In 2015 he was given the Rural Fire Service Long Service Medal from New South Wales for ten years of long service. In 2022 he received the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun from Japan.

In popular culture

In January 2016, the Macquarie Dictionary said that "captain's call" was its 2015 Word of the Year. The people who chose it said the phrase described what happened in Australia that year. Mr Abbott often used the phrase when he was leader. It meant he made decisions without first asking his colleagues.