Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is the 29th and current Prime Minister
of Australia. Turnbull became Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia after he defeated the incumbent Tony Abbott at the September 2015 Liberal leadership ballot. He is leading the incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government against the Shorten Labor Opposition at the 2016 federal election on Saturday 2 July.
Turnbull attended Sydney Grammar School before going to the University of Sydney, where he attained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws. Turnbull then attended Brasenose College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where he attained a Bachelor of Civil Law. For over two decades prior to entering parliament, Turnbull worked in both personal and managerial positions as a journalist, a lawyer, a merchant banker including Chairman and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Australia, a venture capitalist, and Chairman of the Australian Republican Movement. A self-made multi-millionaire, Turnbull purchased a stake of internet service provider Ozemail in 1994 for $500,000 and sold his stake just months before the dot com bubble burst in 1999 for $57 million, paving the way to his current estimated net worth of above $200 million with entries in the BRW Rich 200 list.
Though Turnbull had attempted Liberal preselection at a 1981 by-election and later at the 2001 federal election, he was first elected to the House of Representatives seat of Wentworth in New South Wales at the 2004 federal election. Elevated to the Howard Cabinet in January 2007, he briefly served as Minister for the Environment and Water. Following the defeat of the Liberal government at the 2007 federal election, Turnbull declared himself as a candidate at the 2007 Liberal leadership ballot, but lost to Brendan Nelson by three votes. Following a period of poor polling, Turnbull defeated Nelson by four votes at the 2008 Liberal leadership ballot and was elected party leader and Leader of the Opposition. Turnbull was considered part of the progressive Liberal minority at the time due to his differing views on issues such as Australian climate change, Australian republicanism and Australian marriage equality. Turnbull's support for the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme proposed by the Rudd government split the Turnbull opposition, resulting in Abbott defeating Turnbull at the 2009 Liberal leadership ballot by a single vote. Initially intending to leave parliament, Turnbull remained and eventually became Minister for Communications in the Abbott government following the defeat of the Labor government at the 2013 federal election.
On 14 September 2015, citing consistently poor opinion polling for the Abbott government, Turnbull challenged Abbott at the subsequent Liberal leadership ballot and won by ten votes. Turnbull once again became Liberal leader, was sworn in as Prime Minister the following day, and formed the Turnbull government. Opinion polling for the 2016 federal election indicated a honeymoon period which lasted for several months until the start of April when Turnbull began to register net negative satisfaction ratings and, though voting intention has since been tight, from there on the government also ceased leading the two-party vote in all but a few exceptions.
Turnbull is married to prominent businesswoman and 2003–04 Sydney Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull AO, née Hughes. They married on 22 March 1980 at Cumnor, Oxfordshire, near Oxford by a Church of England priest while Turnbull was attending the University of Oxford. They and their two children, Alex and Daisy, live in Sydney.
The use of Bligh as a male middle name is a tradition in the Turnbull family. It is also Turnbull's son's middle name. One of Turnbull's ancestors was colonist John Turnbull, who named his youngest son William Bligh Turnbull in honour of deposed Governor William Bligh at the time of the Rum Rebellion.
Turnbull and Lucy became grandparents in September 2013, when their daughter gave birth to a boy.
Raised Presbyterian, Turnbull converted to Roman Catholicism in 2002. However, he has found himself at odds with the church's teaching on abortion, stem cell research and same-sex marriage. Turnbull supported legislation relaxing restrictions on abortion pill RU486 and he also voted for the legalisation of somatic cell nuclear transfer. He did so despite the vocal public opposition to both proposals by Cardinal George Pell, the then-Archbishop of Sydney.
In 2005, the combined net worth of Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull was estimated at A$133 million, making him Australia's richest parliamentarian until the election of billionaire Clive Palmer in the 2013 election.
Turnbull made the BRW Rich 200 list for the second year running in 2010, and although he slipped from 182 to 197, his estimated net worth increased to A$186 million, and he continued to be the only sitting politician to make the list. Turnbull was not listed in the 2014 list of the BRW Rich 200. As of 2015, his estimated net worth is in excess of A$200 million.
Turnbull attended Sydney Grammar School before going to the University of Sydney, where he attained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws. Turnbull then attended Brasenose College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where he attained a Bachelor of Civil Law. For over two decades prior to entering parliament, Turnbull worked in both personal and managerial positions as a journalist, a lawyer, a merchant banker including Chairman and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Australia, a venture capitalist, and Chairman of the Australian Republican Movement. A self-made multi-millionaire, Turnbull purchased a stake of internet service provider Ozemail in 1994 for $500,000 and sold his stake just months before the dot com bubble burst in 1999 for $57 million, paving the way to his current estimated net worth of above $200 million with entries in the BRW Rich 200 list.
Though Turnbull had attempted Liberal preselection at a 1981 by-election and later at the 2001 federal election, he was first elected to the House of Representatives seat of Wentworth in New South Wales at the 2004 federal election. Elevated to the Howard Cabinet in January 2007, he briefly served as Minister for the Environment and Water. Following the defeat of the Liberal government at the 2007 federal election, Turnbull declared himself as a candidate at the 2007 Liberal leadership ballot, but lost to Brendan Nelson by three votes. Following a period of poor polling, Turnbull defeated Nelson by four votes at the 2008 Liberal leadership ballot and was elected party leader and Leader of the Opposition. Turnbull was considered part of the progressive Liberal minority at the time due to his differing views on issues such as Australian climate change, Australian republicanism and Australian marriage equality. Turnbull's support for the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme proposed by the Rudd government split the Turnbull opposition, resulting in Abbott defeating Turnbull at the 2009 Liberal leadership ballot by a single vote. Initially intending to leave parliament, Turnbull remained and eventually became Minister for Communications in the Abbott government following the defeat of the Labor government at the 2013 federal election.
On 14 September 2015, citing consistently poor opinion polling for the Abbott government, Turnbull challenged Abbott at the subsequent Liberal leadership ballot and won by ten votes. Turnbull once again became Liberal leader, was sworn in as Prime Minister the following day, and formed the Turnbull government. Opinion polling for the 2016 federal election indicated a honeymoon period which lasted for several months until the start of April when Turnbull began to register net negative satisfaction ratings and, though voting intention has since been tight, from there on the government also ceased leading the two-party vote in all but a few exceptions.
Turnbull is married to prominent businesswoman and 2003–04 Sydney Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull AO, née Hughes. They married on 22 March 1980 at Cumnor, Oxfordshire, near Oxford by a Church of England priest while Turnbull was attending the University of Oxford. They and their two children, Alex and Daisy, live in Sydney.
The use of Bligh as a male middle name is a tradition in the Turnbull family. It is also Turnbull's son's middle name. One of Turnbull's ancestors was colonist John Turnbull, who named his youngest son William Bligh Turnbull in honour of deposed Governor William Bligh at the time of the Rum Rebellion.
Turnbull and Lucy became grandparents in September 2013, when their daughter gave birth to a boy.
Raised Presbyterian, Turnbull converted to Roman Catholicism in 2002. However, he has found himself at odds with the church's teaching on abortion, stem cell research and same-sex marriage. Turnbull supported legislation relaxing restrictions on abortion pill RU486 and he also voted for the legalisation of somatic cell nuclear transfer. He did so despite the vocal public opposition to both proposals by Cardinal George Pell, the then-Archbishop of Sydney.
In 2005, the combined net worth of Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull was estimated at A$133 million, making him Australia's richest parliamentarian until the election of billionaire Clive Palmer in the 2013 election.
Turnbull made the BRW Rich 200 list for the second year running in 2010, and although he slipped from 182 to 197, his estimated net worth increased to A$186 million, and he continued to be the only sitting politician to make the list. Turnbull was not listed in the 2014 list of the BRW Rich 200. As of 2015, his estimated net worth is in excess of A$200 million.
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