List of Australian Prime Ministers by age
This is a list of Prime Ministers of Australia by age, including when they were born, what age they were when they were appointed Prime Minister, what age were they when they left the office and the age at which they died, or their current age as of 7 December 2016 if they are still alive. The table can be sorted by each different category.
The date of appointment as Prime Minister is the date on which they were sworn in by the Governor-General for their first term. The day on which they departed office is the final day of their final term. This is either the day a new Prime Minister was appointed or their date of death if they died whilst in office.
Overview
The median age of a Prime Minister on the first day of their first term is 53 years, 33 days, which falls between James Scullin and Billy Hughes. The youngest person to assume the office was Chris Watson (age 37 years, 18 days). The oldest person to assume office was John McEwen (age 67 years, 265 days).
The oldest living Prime Minister is Bob Hawke who is 86 years old. The youngest living former Prime Minister is Julia Gillard, born 29 September 1961 (age 55 years, 69 days).
The longest-lived Prime Minister was Gough Whitlam who died on 21 October 2014 at the age of 98. Frank Forde was the second longest-lived Prime Minister, at the age of 92 years, 194 days. Whitlam surpassed Forde's lifespan on 21 January 2009. The shortest-lived Prime Minister was Harold Holt, at the age of 59 years, 134 days (See footnote below explaining his disappearance).
# |
Prime Minister |
Date of birth |
Start date of (first) term |
Age at beginning of (first) term |
End date of (final) term |
Total time in office |
Date of death |
Lifespan |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Barton, EdmundEdmund Barton | 18 January 1849 | 1 January 1901 | 51 years, 348 days | 24 September 1903 | 996 days | 7 January 1920 | 25,920 days (70 years, 354 days) |
2 | Deakin, AlfredAlfred Deakin | 3 August 1856 | 24 September 1903 | 47 years, 52 days | 29 April 1910 | 1,774 days | 7 October 1919 | 23,074 days (63 years, 65 days) |
3 | Watson, ChrisChris Watson | 9 April 1867 | 27 April 1904 | 37 years, 18 days | 18 August 1904 | 113 days | 18 November 1941 | 27,251 days (74 years, 223 days) |
4 | Reid, GeorgeGeorge Reid | 25 February 1845 | 18 August 1904 | 59 years, 175 days | 5 July 1905 | 321 days | 12 September 1918 | 26,861 days (73 years, 199 days) |
5 | Fisher, AndrewAndrew Fisher | 29 August 1862 | 13 November 1908 | 46 years, 76 days | 27 October 1915 | 1,758 days | 22 October 1928 | 24,160 days (66 years, 54 days) |
6 | Cook, JosephJoseph Cook | 7 December 1860 | 24 June 1913 | 52 years, 199 days | 17 September 1914 | 450 days | 30 July 1947 | 31,645 days (86 years, 235 days) |
7 | Hughes, BillyBilly Hughes | 25 September 1862 | 27 October 1915 | 53 years, 32 days | 9 February 1923 | 2,662 days | 28 October 1952 | 32,905 days (90 years, 33 days) |
8 | Bruce, StanleyStanley Bruce | 15 April 1883 | 9 February 1923 | 39 years, 300 days | 22 October 1929 | 2,447 days | 25 August 1967 | 30,812 days (84 years, 132 days) |
9 | Scullin, JamesJames Scullin | 18 September 1876 | 22 October 1929 | 53 years, 34 days | 6 January 1932 | 806 days | 28 January 1953 | 27,890 days (76 years, 132 days) |
10 | Lyons, JosephJoseph Lyons | 15 September 1879 | 6 January 1932 | 52 years, 113 days | 7 April 1939[1] | 2,648 days | 7 April 1939 | 21,753 days (59 years, 204 days) |
11 | Page, EarleEarle Page | 8 August 1880 | 7 April 1939 | 58 years, 242 days | 26 April 1939 | 19 days | 20 December 1961 | 29,718 days (81 years, 134 days) |
12 | Menzies, RobertRobert Menzies | 20 December 1894 | 26 April 1939 | 44 years, 127 days | 26 January 1966 | 6,735 days | 15 May 1978 | 30,461 days (83 years, 146 days) |
13 | Fadden, ArthurArthur Fadden | 13 April 1894 | 29 August 1941 | 47 years, 138 days | 7 October 1941 | 39 days | 21 April 1973 | 28,862 days (79 years, 8 days) |
14 | Curtin, JohnJohn Curtin | 8 January 1885 | 7 October 1941 | 56 years, 272 days | 5 July 1945[1] | 1,367 days | 5 July 1945 | 22,092 days (60 years, 178 days) |
15 | Forde, FrankFrank Forde | 18 July 1890 | 6 July 1945 | 54 years, 353 days | 13 July 1945 | 7 days | 28 January 1983 | 33,796 days (92 years, 194 days) |
16 | Chifley, BenBen Chifley | 22 September 1885 | 13 July 1945 | 59 years, 294 days | 19 December 1949 | 1,620 days | 13 June 1951 | 24,004 days (65 years, 264 days) |
17 | Holt, HaroldHarold Holt | 5 August 1908 | 26 January 1966 | 57 years, 174 days | 19 December 1967[2] | 690 days | 17 December 1967[3] | 21,683 days (59 years, 134 days) |
18 | McEwen, JohnJohn McEwen | 29 March 1900 | 19 December 1967 | 67 years, 265 days | 10 January 1968 | 22 days | 20 November 1980 | 29,456 days (80 years, 236 days) |
19 | Gorton, JohnJohn Gorton | 9 September 1911 | 10 January 1968 | 56 years, 123 days | 10 March 1971 | 1,155 days | 19 May 2002 | 33,125 days (90 years, 252 days) |
20 | McMahon, WilliamWilliam McMahon | 23 February 1908 | 10 March 1971 | 63 years, 15 days | 5 December 1972 | 636 days | 31 March 1988 | 29,257 days (80 years, 37 days) |
21 | Whitlam, GoughGough Whitlam | 11 July 1916 | 5 December 1972 | 56 years, 147 days | 11 November 1975 | 1,071 days | 21 October 2014 | 35,896 days (98 years, 102 days) |
22 | Fraser, MalcolmMalcolm Fraser | 21 May 1930 | 11 November 1975 | 45 years, 174 days | 11 March 1983 | 2,677 days | 20 March 2015 | 30,984 days (84 years, 303 days) |
23 | Hawke, BobBob Hawke | 9 December 1929 | 11 March 1983 | 53 years, 92 days | 20 December 1991 | 3,206 days | 31,775 days (86 years, 364 days) | |
24 | Keating, PaulPaul Keating | 18 January 1944 | 20 December 1991 | 47 years, 336 days | 11 March 1996 | 1,543 days | 26,622 days (72 years, 324 days) | |
25 | Howard, JohnJohn Howard | 26 July 1939 | 11 March 1996 | 56 years, 229 days | 3 December 2007 | 4,284 days | 28,259 days (77 years, 134 days) | |
26 | Rudd, KevinKevin Rudd | 21 September 1957 | 3 December 2007 | 50 years, 73 days | 18 September 2013 | 1,017 days | 21,627 days (59 years, 77 days) | |
27 | Gillard, JuliaJulia Gillard | 29 September 1961 | 24 June 2010 | 48 years, 268 days | 27 June 2013 | 1,099 days | 20,158 days (55 years, 69 days) | |
28 | Abbott, TonyTony Abbott | 4 November 1957 | 18 September 2013 | 55 years, 318 days | 15 September 2015 | 727 days | 21,583 days (59 years, 33 days) | |
29 | Turnbull, MalcolmMalcolm Turnbull | 24 October 1954 | 15 September 2015 | 60 years, 326 days | 449 days | 22,690 days (62 years, 44 days) | ||
# | Prime Minister | Date of birth | Start date of (first) term |
Age at beginning of (first) term |
End date of (final) term |
Total time in office |
Date of death | Lifespan |