Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory
Flag of the Australian Capital Territory
Coat of arms of the Australian Capital Territory
Incumbent Andrew Barr since 11 December 2014
Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate
Style	The Honourable
Abbreviation	CM
Member of	Cabinet National Cabinet
Reports to	Legislative Assembly
Seat	1 Constitution Avenue, Canberra
Appointer	Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
Constituting instrument	Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cth), section 40
Formation	11 May 1989
First holder	Rosemary Follett
Deputy	Deputy Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory
Salary	A$384,928

The chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly usually takes on the role. Unlike other states and territories, the chief minister is not appointed by a governor or administrator, but elected directly by the Assembly.

The chief minister is the rough equivalent of the state premiers, and has been a member of the National Cabinet since its creation in 2020. The chief minister previously also represented the ACT on the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). Since there are no local governments in the territory, the chief minister's role is also similar to that of the mayor of a local government area. The chief minister sits on the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors.

The current chief minister is Andrew Barr of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), who was first elected by the Assembly on 11 December 2014 following the resignation of Katy Gallagher.

List of officeholders

No.	Portrait	Name Electorate (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Election	Party		Ministry
			Term start	Term end	Time in office
1		Rosemary Follett MLA (born 1948)	11 May 1989	5 December 1989	208 days	1989		Labor	Follett I
2		Trevor Kaine MLA (1928–2008)	5 December 1989	6 June 1991	1 year, 183 days	—		Liberal	Kaine
(1)		Rosemary Follett MLA (born 1948)	6 June 1991	2 March 1995	3 years, 269 days	—		Labor	Follett II
						1992			Follett III
3		Kate Carnell MLA for Molonglo (born 1955)	2 March 1995	18 October 2000	5 years, 230 days	1995		Liberal	Carnell I
						1998			Carnell II
4		Gary Humphries MLA for Molonglo (born 1958)	18 October 2000	5 November 2001	1 year, 18 days	—		Liberal	Humphries
5		Jon Stanhope MLA for Ginninderra (born 1951)	5 November 2001	12 May 2011	9 years, 188 days	2001		Labor	Stanhope I
						2004			Stanhope II
						2008			Stanhope III
6		Katy Gallagher MLA for Molonglo (born 1970)	16 May 2011	11 December 2014	3 years, 209 days	—		Labor	Gallagher I
						2012			Gallagher II
7		Andrew Barr MLA for Kurrajong (born 1970)	11 December 2014	Incumbent	9 years, 332 days	—		Labor	Barr I
						2016			Barr II
						2020			Barr III

Graphical timeline

Rank by time in office

This is a list of chief ministers of the Australian Capital Territory by time in office. The basis of the list is the inclusive number of days between dates.

Parties

      Australian Labor Party       Liberal Party of Australia

	Rank	Officeholder	Portrait	Party	District	Assumed office	Left office	Time in office (term)	Time in office (total)	Election wins
	1.	Jon Stanhope (1951–) AO		Labor	MLA for Ginninderra (1998–2011)	5 November 2001	12 May 2011		9 years, 188 days	2001 2004 2008
	2.	Andrew Barr (1973–)		Labor	MLA for Molonglo (2006–2016) MLA for Kurrajong (2016- )	11 December 2014	Incumbent		9 years, 332 days	2016 2020
	3.	Kate Carnell (1955–) AO		Liberal	MLA for Molonglo (1992–2000)	2 March 1995	18 October 2000		5 years, 230 days	1995 1998
	4.	Rosemary Follett (1948–) AO		Labor	MLA for Molonglo (1995–1996)	11 May 1989	5 December 1989	208 days	4 years, 122 days	1989 1992
						6 June 1991	2 March 1995	3 years, 330 days
	5.	Katy Gallagher (1970–)		Labor	MLA for Molonglo (2001–2014)	16 May 2011	11 December 2014		3 years, 209 days	2012
	6.	Trevor Kaine (1928–2008)		Liberal	MLA for Brindabella (1995–2001)	5 December 1989	6 June 1991		1 year, 183 days
	7.	Gary Humphries (1958–)		Liberal	MLA for Molonglo (1995–2002)	18 October 2000	5 November 2001		1 year, 18 days

Total time in office of political parties in Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory Assembly – 12964 days as of 7 November 2024

Labor

• 9976 days as of 7 November 2024.

Liberal

• 2990 days.