Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory
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. 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, who was first elected by the Assembly on 11 December 2014 following the resignation of Katy Gallagher. Barr is also the longest serving Chief Minister in the ACT.
List of officeholders
Graphical timeline
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:12
PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20
AlignBars = late
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1989 till:01/07/2024
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1989
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1989
Colors =
id:canvas value:gray
id:LIB value:blue legend:Liberal
id:ALP value:red legend:Labor
Legend = columns:3 left:205 top:20 columnwidth:150
BarData =
barset:PM
PlotData=
width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift: anchor:till
barset:PM
from: 11/05/1989 till: 05/12/1989 color:ALP text:"Follett" fontsize:10
from: 05/12/1989 till: 06/06/1991 color:LIB text:"Kaine" fontsize:10
from: 06/06/1991 till: 02/03/1995 color:ALP text:"Follett II" fontsize:10
from: 02/03/1995 till: 18/10/2000 color:LIB text:"Carnell" fontsize:10
from: 18/10/2000 till: 05/11/2001 color:LIB text:"Humphries" fontsize:10
from: 05/11/2001 till: 12/05/2011 color:ALP text:"Stanhope" fontsize:10
from: 12/05/2011 till: 11/12/2014 color:ALP text:"Gallagher" fontsize:10
from: 11/12/2014 till: end color:ALP text:"Barr" fontsize:10
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
| Rank | Portrait | Officeholder | Party | District | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | Time in office | Election wins | |
| 1. | Andrew Barr | Labor | MLA for Molonglo MLA for Kurrajong | 11 December 2014 | Incumbent | 2016 2020 2024 | ||||
| 2. | Jon Stanhope AO | Labor | MLA for Ginninderra | 12 November 2001 | 12 May 2011 | 2001 2004 2008 | ||||
| 3. | Kate Carnell AO | Liberal | MLA for Molonglo | 9 March 1995 | 17 October 2000 | 1995 1998 | ||||
| 4. | Rosemary Follett AO | Labor | MLA for Molonglo | 11 May 1989 | 5 December 1989 | ' | 4 years, 122 days | 1989 1992 | ||
| 4. | Rosemary Follett AO | Labor | MLA for Molonglo | 6 June 1991 | 9 March 1995 | ' | 4 years, 122 days | 1989 1992 | ||
| 5. | Katy Gallagher | Labor | MLA for Molonglo | 16 May 2011 | 10 December 2014 | 2012 | ||||
| 6. | Trevor Kaine | Liberal | MLA for Brindabella | 5 December 1989 | 6 June 1991 | |||||
| 7. | Gary Humphries | Liberal | MLA for Molonglo | 18 October 2000 | 12 November 2001 |
Total time in office of political parties in Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory Assembly – days as of[Australian [Labor Party (Australian Capital Territory Branch)|Labor]]
- ''''''
Liberal">Liberal Party of Australia (Australian Capital Territory Division)">Liberal
- days.