Richard Donald Marles (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician and lawyer who has served as the 19th deputy prime minister of Australia and the minister for defence since 2022. He has been the deputy leader of the Labor Party since 2019 and the member of parliament (MP) for the Victorian division of Corio since 2007.
Marles grew up in Geelong, Victoria, and is a lawyer by profession. He was assistant secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions from 2000 to 2007. He was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2007 federal election, after defeating incumbent Labor MP Gavan O'Connor for preselection in the seat of Corio. Marles was made a parliamentary secretary in 2009 and briefly served as Minister for Trade in 2013, having supported Kevin Rudd's return as prime minister. He was appointed to shadow cabinet after the ALP's defeat at the 2013 election and became a senior figure in the Labor Right faction.
Marles was elected deputy leader under Anthony Albanese after the 2019 election, becoming deputy opposition leader. Following the ALP's victory at the 2022 election he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister.
Marles was born on 13 July 1967 in Geelong, Victoria. He is the son of Donald Marles, a former headmaster of Trinity Grammar School, and Fay Marles (née Pearce), Victoria's first Equal Opportunity Commissioner and later Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.
Marles was educated at Geelong Grammar School, where his father had been a house master, and the University of Melbourne, where he was a resident of Ormond College. He joined the Melbourne University Labor Club in his first week at university and served as president of the Melbourne University Student Union in 1988. He was also the general secretary of the National Union of Students in 1989. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Laws with Honours and began his career as a solicitor with Melbourne industrial law firm Slater and Gordon. In 1994, he became legal officer for the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and was elected TWU national assistant secretary four years later. In 2000, he joined Australia's peak union body, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, as assistant secretary, remaining in the position until 2007.
In March 2006, Marles nominated for Labor preselection against the sitting member for Corio, Gavan O'Connor, as part of a challenge to several sitting members organised by the right-wing Labor Unity faction of the party. In the local ballot Marles polled 57% of the vote, and his endorsement was then confirmed by the party's public office selection committee.
Marles was elected member for Corio on 24 November 2007 in the election that returned the Labor Party to office under the leadership of Kevin Rudd. From February 2008 to June 2009 he was chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs.
Parliamentary secretary and Minister for Trade
In June 2009 Marles was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry. He retained his seat in the 2010 election and was sworn in as Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs in the First Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010. In July 2011, Marles became the first Australian member of parliament to visit Wallis and Futuna. Marles arrived in Wallis and Futuna to attend a ceremony with King Kapiliele Faupala in Mata-Utu marking the 50th anniversary of the islands' status as a French Overseas collectivity. Marles had previously visited New Caledonia in October 2010 and French Polynesia in March 2011.
In the ministerial reshuffle of 2 March 2012, Marles was given the additional role of Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs. On 21 March 2013 he resigned these roles after expressing support for Kevin Rudd to challenge Julia Gillard for the leadership; a challenge that did not eventuate.
In June 2013, he was appointed the Minister for Trade and a member of the Cabinet, succeeding Craig Emerson, who resigned following the June 2013 leadership spill that saw Kevin Rudd defeat Julia Gillard for leadership of the Labor Party.
After the ALP's defeat at the 2013 federal election, Marles was appointed Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection under opposition leader Bill Shorten. In February 2016, he began co-hosting the weekly television program Pyne & Marles on Sky News Live with Liberal MP Christopher Pyne. Marles had his portfolio changed after the 2016 election, becoming Shadow Minister for Defence. He has been cited as holding pro-U.S. views and as "somewhat of a hawk".
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
In May 2019, after Labor lost the 2019 federal election, it was reported that Marles would stand for the deputy leadership of the party, and would likely be elected unopposed following Clare O'Neil's decision not to run. He was formally endorsed as deputy to Anthony Albanese on 30 May, and selected the portfolio of Defence in the shadow cabinet.
Following a shadow cabinet reshuffle in January 2021, Marles was placed in charge of a new "super portfolio" relating to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, encompassing a "broad brief across national reconstruction, jobs, skills, small business and science".
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister
Two days after the 2022 federal election, Albanese had himself, Marles and three other senior Labor frontbenchers sworn in as an interim five-person government. Although counting was still underway, it was apparent by this time that no other party could realistically form even a minority government. As Albanese flew to Tokyo to take part in the Quad soon after being sworn in, Marles served as Acting Prime Minister until Albanese returned to lead the nation full-time. He continues to return to the role whenever Albanese leaves the country.
On 1 June 2022, Marles was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Defence. One of his early decisions was relocating 500 Australian troops to Townsville over the course of six years from 2025 to strengthen the Australian Army's ability to conduct operations missions in the Pacific. This announcement was criticised by the city's mayor Jenny Hill who claimed that Townsville City Council was not consulted about military personnel's housing. On 29 September 2023, Marles announced that the Australian Defence Force would retire its fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters following a fatal crash during Exercise Talisman Sabre in July 2023 which killed four military personnel.