Premier of Western Australia

The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. This role is similar to the prime minister of Australia but focuses only on the state. The premier leads the executive branch of the Government of Western Australia and must answer to the Parliament of Western Australia. The premier is chosen by the governor of Western Australia, who typically selects the person who has the support of most members in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the main law-making group in the state.

Since Western Australia began to govern itself in 1890, 31 people have served as premier. The current premier is Roger Cook, who took office on 8 June 2023. The premier plays an important role in making decisions that affect the everyday lives of people living in Western Australia.

History

The role of premier in Western Australia wasn't written into the state's constitution. From 1890 to 1917, people called the head of the government "premier" even though it wasn't an official title. When Western Australia became self-governing in 1890, the governor thought about calling this leader the prime minister, but chose "premier" to match other Australian colonies. The title became official in 1917 when the governor appointed Henry Lefroy as premier, though it wasn't fully recognized as an official government position until 1947.

Premiers usually change after elections, which happen about every four years now. Before the 1990s, elections happened more often, except during World War II. Sometimes, a new premier is chosen when the ruling party picks a new leader after a resignation, death, or leadership spill. Another way a premier can change is if they lose support in the Legislative Assembly, which happened more often in the early years of self-governance but not since 1916. In such cases, the premier must either step down or be dismissed by the governor.

Powers and function

The premier of Western Australia has important jobs. They help decide who becomes the governor and who joins the cabinet, which is a group of leaders who help run the state. The premier tells each cabinet member what their job is and which laws they will work with. They lead the cabinet meetings and talk with the governor, the government, and leaders from other places.

The premier also decides when elections happen and oversees a special department that helps with their work. While being premier, they also stay a member of parliament and represent their area.

Characteristics

As of 2023, there have been 31 premiers of Western Australia. Carmen Lawrence, who was appointed on 12 February 1990, is the first and only woman to be premier of Western Australia. She is also the first woman to be premier of an Australian state. By convention, the premier is a member of the Legislative Assembly, but they can also be a member of either house of parliament. Hal Colebatch is the only premier to have been a member of the Legislative Council (upper house). He served for only 30 days in 1919, making him the shortest serving premier. David Brand served the longest, for 11 years and 335 days between 1959 and 1971.

The youngest premier was John Scaddan, who was just 35 years old when he became premier in 1911. The oldest was John Tonkin, who was 69 years old when he took office in 1971. Newton Moore became premier after only two years in parliament, while Tonkin waited almost 38 years before becoming premier. The only father and son to both be premier are Charles Court and his son Richard Court.

List of premiers of Western Australia

The premier of Western Australia is the leader of the government in that state. This role is similar to the prime minister of Australia but only for Western Australia. The premier leads the main part of the government and must answer to the state's parliament.

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–death) Constituency	Election	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Monarch	Governor
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Sir John Forrest (1847–1918) MLA for Bunbury 1890–1901	1890 1894 1897	29 December 1890	14 February 1901	10 years, 48 days	None	Forrest ministry	Victoria	Frederick Broome
										William Robinson
										Gerard Smith
									Edward VII
2		George Throssell (1840–1910) MLA for Northam 1890–1904 MLC for East Province 1907–1910	1901	14 February 1901	27 May 1901	101 days	None	Throssell ministry
										Arthur Lawley
3		George Leake (1856–1902) MLA for Roebourne 1890 MLA for Albany 1894–1900 MLA for West Perth 1901–1902	—	27 May 1901	21 November 1901	178 days	None	First Leake ministry
4		Alf Morgans (1850–1933) MLA for Coolgardie 1897–1904	—	21 November 1901	23 December 1901	32 days	None	Morgans ministry
(3)		George Leake (1856–1902) MLA for Roebourne 1890 MLA for Albany 1894–1900 MLA for West Perth 1901–1902	—	23 December 1901	24 June 1902	190 days	None	Second Leake ministry
5		Sir Walter James (1863–1943) MLA for East Perth 1894–1904	—	1 July 1902	10 August 1904	2 years, 40 days	None	James ministry
										Frederick Bedford
6		Henry Daglish (1866–1920) MLA for Subiaco 1901–1911	1904	10 August 1904	25 August 1905	1 year, 15 days	Labor	Daglish ministry
7		Sir Hector Rason (1858–1927) MLC for Swan 1889–1890 MLA for South Murchison 1897–1901 MLA for Guildford 1901–1906	1905	25 August 1905	7 May 1906	255 days	None	Rason ministry
8		Sir Newton Moore (1870–1936) MLA for Bunbury 1904–1911	1908	7 May 1906	16 September 1910	4 years, 132 days	None	Moore ministry
										Gerald Strickland
									George V
9		Frank Wilson (1859–1918) MLA for Canning 1897–1901 MLA for Perth 1901 MLA for Sussex 1904–1917	—	16 September 1910	7 October 1911	1 year, 21 days	None	First Wilson ministry
10		John Scaddan (1876–1934) MLA for Ivanhoe 1904–1911 MLA for Brown Hill-Ivanhoe 1911–1916 1916–1917 MLA for Albany 1919–1924 MLA for Maylands 1930–1933	1911 1914	7 October 1911	27 July 1916	4 years, 294 days	Labor	Scaddan ministry
										Harry Barron
(9)		Frank Wilson (1859–1918) MLA for Canning 1897–1901 MLA for Perth 1901 MLA for Sussex 1904–1917	—	27 July 1916	28 June 1917	336 days	Liberal	Second Wilson ministry
										William Ellison-Macartney
11		Sir Henry Lefroy (1854–1930) MLA for Moore 1892–1901 1911–1921	1917	28 June 1917	17 April 1919	1 year, 293 days	Nationalist	Lefroy ministry
12		Sir Hal Colebatch (1872–1953) MLC for East Province 1912–1923 MLC for Metropolitan Province (1940–1948)	—	17 April 1919	17 May 1919	30 days	Nationalist	Colebatch ministry
13		Sir James Mitchell (1866–1951) MLA for Northam 1905–1933	1921	17 May 1919	17 April 1924	4 years, 335 days	Nationalist	First Mitchell ministry
										Francis Newdegate
14		Philip Collier (1873–1948) MLA for Boulder 1905–1948	1924 1927	17 April 1924	24 April 1930	6 years, 8 days	Labor	First Collier ministry
										William Campion
(13)		Sir James Mitchell (1866–1951) MLA for Northam 1905–1933	1930	24 April 1930	26 April 1933	3 years	Nationalist	Second Mitchell ministry
										None
(14)		Philip Collier (1873–1948) MLA for Boulder 1905–1948	1933 1936	26 April 1933	19 August 1936	3 years, 118 days	Labor	Second Collier ministry
									Edward VIII
15		John Willcock (1879–1947) MLA for Geraldton 1917–1947	1939 1943	19 August 1936	31 July 1945	8 years, 345 days	Labor	Willcock ministry
									George VI
16		Frank Wise (1897–1986) MLA for Gascoyne 1933–1951	—	31 July 1945	1 April 1947	1 year, 244 days	Labor	Wise ministry
17		Sir Ross McLarty (1891–1962) MLA for Murray-Wellington 1930–1962	1947 1950	1 April 1947	23 February 1953	5 years, 328 days	Liberal	McLarty–Watts ministry
										James Mitchell
										Charles Gairdner
									Elizabeth II
18		Bert Hawke (1900–1986) MLA for Northam 1933–1968	1953 1956	23 February 1953	2 April 1959	6 years, 37 days	Labor	Hawke ministry
19		Sir David Brand (1912–1979) MLA for Greenough 1945–1975	1959 1962 1965 1968	2 April 1959	3 March 1971	11 years, 335 days	Liberal	Brand–Watts ministry
								Brand–Nalder ministry
										Douglas Kendrew
20		John Tonkin (1902–1995) MLA for North-East Fremantle 1933–1950 MLA for Melville 1950–1977	1971	3 March 1971	8 April 1974	3 years, 66 days	Labor	Tonkin ministry
										Hughie Edwards
21		Sir Charles Court (1911–2007) MLA for Nedlands 1953–1982	1974 1977 1980	8 April 1974	25 January 1982	7 years, 292 days	Liberal	Court–McPharlin ministry
								Court ministry
										Wallace Kyle
										Richard Trowbridge
22		Ray O'Connor (1926–2013) MLA for North Perth 1959–1962 MLA for Mount Lawley 1962–1984	—	25 January 1982	25 February 1983	1 year, 31 days	Liberal	O'Connor ministry
23		Brian Burke (born 1947) MLA for Balcatta 1973–1974 1977–1983 MLA for Balga 1974–1977 1983–1988	1983 1986	25 February 1983	25 February 1988	5 years	Labor	Burke ministry
										Gordon Reid
24		Peter Dowding (born 1943) MLC for North Province 1979–1986 MLA for Maylands 1986–1990	1989	25 February 1988	12 February 1990	1 year, 352 days	Labor	Dowding ministry
										None
25		Carmen Lawrence (born 1948) MLA for Subiaco 1986–1989 MLA for Glendalough 1989–1994	—	12 February 1990	16 February 1993	3 years, 4 days	Labor	Lawrence ministry
										Francis Burt
26		Richard Court (born 1947) MLA for Nedlands 1982–2001	1993 1996	16 February 1993	16 February 2001	7 years, 360 days	Liberal	Court–Cowan ministry
										Michael Jeffery
										John Sanderson
27		Geoff Gallop (born 1951) MLA for Victoria Park 1986–2006	2001 2005	16 February 2001	25 January 2006	4 years, 343 days	Labor	Gallop ministry
										Ken Michael
28		Alan Carpenter (born 1951) MLA for Willagee 1996–2009	—	25 January 2006	23 September 2008	2 years, 242 days	Labor	Carpenter ministry
29		Colin Barnett (born 1950) MLA for Cottesloe 1990 – 2018	2008 2013	23 September 2008	17 March 2017	8 years, 175 days	Liberal	Barnett ministry
										Malcolm McCusker
										Kerry Sanderson
30		Mark McGowan (born 1967) MLA for Rockingham 1996–2023	2017 2021	17 March 2017	8 June 2023	6 years, 83 days	Labor	First McGowan ministry
										Kim Beazley
								Second McGowan ministry
										Chris Dawson
									Charles III
31		Roger Cook (born 1965) MLA for Kwinana 2008–present	2025	8 June 2023	incumbent	2 years, 345 days	Labor	Cook ministry

Graphical timeline