Campbell Newman

Who is Campbell Newman?

Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman is an Australian politician and the 38th and current Premier of Queensland since 26 March 2012. He has been the leader of the liberal-conservative Liberal National Party of Queensland since April 2011, and was the 15th Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 2004 to 2011.

Newman was elected Lord Mayor as a member of the Liberal Party of Australia. Since the July 2008 merger of the Queensland Liberals and National Party of Australia, Newman has been a member of the LNP.

In March 2011, Newman announced that he would challenge Leader of the Opposition John-Paul Langbroek for the leadership of the LNP. Langbroek resigned, and Newman was elected his successor. As Newman was not a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, former state Nationals' leader Jeff Seeney was elected interim opposition leader while Newman headed the party's election team from outside the legislature.

Newman led the LNP to a landslide victory in the 2012 state election, allowing it to form government for the first time in its history. At the same time, he won election to the seat of Ashgrove in western Brisbane. He was sworn in as premier two days later.