Morrison, Scott (1968-…), was the prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He governed as head of a coalition (partnership) of the Liberal and National parties. Morrison is a member of the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party favors little government interference in the economy and is generally conservative on social issues.
Early life and family.
Scott John Morrison was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on May 13, 1968. He studied economics and geography at the University of New South Wales and completed his Bachelor of Science degree in 1989. From 1989 to 1995, Morrison was the national manager of policy and research at the Property Council of Australia, a real estate organization.
From the 1990’s to the early 2000’s, Morrison held a number of management positions in the tourism industry. He was managing director of Tourism Australia, the government agency responsible for promoting international travel to Australia, from 2004 to 2006.
Morrison married Jenny Warren in 1990. The Morrisons have two daughters, Abbey and Lily.
Political career.
Morrison served as the state director for the Liberal Party in New South Wales from 2000 to 2004. He was first elected to Australia’s House of Representatives in 2007, representing the constituency (voting district) of Cook in the southern suburbs of Sydney. He was reelected in 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2022.
From 2013 to 2014, Morrison served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Tony Abbott as minister for immigration and border protection. In this role, he gained national attention for his support and enforcement of Abbott’s controversial campaign to detain asylum-seekers in offshore detention camps to prevent them from reaching Australia by boat. Morrison later served as minister for social services from 2014 to 2015. He served as federal treasurer under Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull from September 2015 to August 2018.
In August 2018, Morrison successfully challenged Turnbull for the leadership of the Liberal Party. In addition to becoming party leader, he became prime minister. Morrison remained in office as prime minister after leading the coalition to victory in a 2019 general election. Morrison governed during a challenging period that included highly destructive bushfires in late 2019 and early 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic (global epidemic), which appeared in Australia by early 2020.
In the May 2022 general election, the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) won the most seats in the House of Representatives. The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, succeeded Morrison as prime minister. Morrison then resigned as leader of the Liberal Party, but he kept his seat in Parliament. He retired from Parliament in February 2024.
