Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party. He was the member of Parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Warringah from 1994 to 2019 and is the current president of the Liberal Party.
Born in England, Abbott studied economics and law at the University of Sydney before attending Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Prior to entering politics, he trained briefly for the priesthood and worked in journalism and political advisory roles. Abbott entered parliament at the 1994 Warringah by-election and rose through the ranks during the Howard government, serving in various ministerial roles, including Health and Ageing. In 2009, he challenged and defeated Malcolm Turnbull in a leadership spill over Turnbull's support for the Labor Party's Emissions Trading Scheme. Abbott subsequently led the Coalition to the 2010 federal election, which resulted in a hung parliament, and then to a landslide victory at the 2013 election.
As prime minister, Abbott's government introduced Operation Sovereign Borders, repealed the carbon pricing scheme and the mining tax, and pursued budget austerity measures. His administration launched several initiatives including the Medical Research Future Fund, trade agreements with China, Japan and South Korea, and the New Colombo Plan. Abbott also committed troops to the fight against ISIS and pledged to resettle 12,000 Syrian refugees. Domestically, he advocated for constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians and a plebiscite on same-sex marriage.
Abbott's leadership faced widespread criticism over unpopular budget cuts and declining public support, culminating in his replacement by Malcolm Turnbull in 2015. He remained in parliament until his defeat at the 2019 election by independent Zali Steggall. In 2020, Abbott was appointed to the UK Board of Trade and continues to engage in public discourse as a writer and speaker, championing conservative viewpoints. In 2026, he was elected as the federal president of the Liberal Party, a primarily administrative role within the party.
Abbott was born on 4 November 1957 at the General Lying-In Hospital in Lambeth, London, England. He is the oldest of four children born to Fay (née Peters; 1933–2025) and Richard Henry "Dick" Abbott (1924–2017). He has three younger sisters, including Christine Forster, who has also been involved in politics. His mother was born in Sydney, while his father was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
At age 16, Dick Abbott moved to Australia with his parents. Two years later, in 1942, he was called up to the Royal Australian Air Force. Dick Abbott and his mother returned to the UK in 1954 where he met and married Fay Peters, a dietitian.
On 7 September 1960, Abbott, his parents, and younger sister Jane, left the UK for Australia on the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme ship SS Oronsay. Settling in Sydney, the family first lived in the suburb of Bronte and later moved to Chatswood. Dick Abbott established what was to become one of the largest orthodontics practices in Australia, retiring in 2002.
Abbott attended primary school at St Aloysius' College at Milsons Point, before completing his secondary school education at St Ignatius' College, Riverview, both Jesuit schools. During his time at St Ignatius' College, one of his teachers was John Kennedy, who would later go on to serve as the member for Hawthorn. He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics (BEc) in 1979 and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1981 from the University of Sydney. He resided at St John's College and was president of the Student Representative Council. Influenced by his chaplain at St Ignatius', Father Emmet Costello, he then attended The Queen's College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar, where in June 1983 he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) and on 21 October 1989 proceeded by seniority to Master of Arts.
During his university days, Abbott gained media attention for political opposition to the then dominant left-wing student leadership. Once he was violently beaten at a university conference. According to the Sun-Herald newspaper, it was "an ugly and often violent time", and Abbott's tactics in student politics were like "an aggressive terrier". Abbott organised rallies in support of Governor-General John Kerr after he dismissed the Whitlam government in November 1975, as well as a pro-Falklands War demonstration during his time at Oxford. At St. Ignatius College, Abbott had been taught and influenced by the Jesuits. At university, he encountered B. A. Santamaria, a Catholic layman who led a movement against Communism within the Australian labour movement in the 1950s, culminating in the 1955 Labor Party split and the formation of the Democratic Labor Party. Santamaria has been described as Abbott's "political hero". He wrote the foreword to a novelisation of Santamaria's life written by Alan Reid, and in 2015 launched a biography of Santamaria written by Gerard Henderson. In 1977, Abbott faced charges of common and indecent assault after allegedly groping trainee teacher Helen Wilson while she was making a speech at the College of Advanced Education in Kuring-gai, Sydney. Abbott pleaded not guilty, and the charges were ultimately dropped.
Abbott was a student boxer, earning two Blues for boxing while at Oxford.
When Abbott was a student, on one occasion he rescued a child who had been pulled out into the sea by the current. On another occasion, while drinking at a pub, he helped rescue children from the burning house next door. On both of these occasions, he left the scene after the rescues and did not wait to be thanked.
Early adult life and pre-political career
Following his time in Britain, Abbott returned to Australia and told his family of his intention to join the priesthood. In 1984 at the age of 26, he entered St Patrick's Seminary, Manly. Abbott did not complete his studies at the seminary, leaving the institution in 1987. Interviewed before the 2013 election, Abbott said of his time as a trainee priest: "The Jesuits had helped to instil in me this thought that our calling in life was to be, to use the phrase: 'a man for others'. And I thought then that the best way in which I could be a 'man for others' was to become a priest. I discovered pretty soon that I was a bit of a square peg in a round hole ... eventually working out that, I'm afraid, I just didn't have what it took to be an effective priest."
Abbott worked in journalism, briefly ran a concrete plant, and began to get involved in national politics. Throughout his time as a student and seminarian, he was writing articles for newspapers and magazines—first for Honi Soit (the University of Sydney student newspaper) and later The Catholic Weekly and national publications such as The Bulletin. He eventually became a journalist and wrote for The Australian.
At birth, Abbott was a British citizen by birth in the UK and by descent from his British-born father. He did not hold Australian citizenship from birth, as at the time Australian citizenship by descent could only be acquired from the father. Abbott became a naturalised Australian citizen on 26 June 1981, apparently so as to become eligible for a Rhodes scholarship. On 12 October 1993, he renounced his British citizenship to be eligible to run for parliament under section 44 of the constitution.
Abbott began his public life when he was employed as a journalist for The Bulletin, an influential news magazine, and later for The Australian newspaper. While deciding his future career path, Abbott developed friendships with senior figures in the New South Wales Labor Party, and was encouraged by Bob Carr, as well as Johno Johnson, to join the Labor Party and run for office. Abbott felt uncomfortable with the role of unions within the party, however, and wrote in his biography that he felt Labor "just wasn't the party for me".