This is a list of premiers of South Australia by time in office. The basis of the list is the inclusive number of years and days between dates.
Rank by time in office
edit- Parties
Australian Labor Party Liberal Party of Australia Liberal and Country League / Liberal Federation Non-Party Conservatism Non-Party Liberalism
| Rank | No. | Officeholder | Portrait | Party | District | Assumed office |
Left office |
Time in office (term) |
Time in office (total) |
Election wins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 33rd | Sir Thomas Playford (1896–1981) GCMG |
|
Liberal & Country League | MP for Murray (1933–1938) Gumeracha (1938–1968) |
5 November 1938 | 10 March 1965 | 
|
26 years, 125 days | 1941 1944 1947 1950 1953 1956 1959 1962 | |
| 2. | 39th | John Bannon (1943–2015) AO |
|
Labor | MP for Ross Smith (1977–1993) |
10 November 1982 | 4 September 1992 |
|
9 years, 299 days | 1982 1985 1989 | |
| 3. | 44th | Mike Rann (1953– ) AC, CNZM |
|
Labor | MP for Ramsay (1993–2012) |
5 March 2002 | 21 October 2011 |
|
9 years, 230 days | 2002 2006 2010 | |
| 4. | 35th | Don Dunstan (1926–1999) AC, QC |
|
Labor | MP for Norwood (1953–1979) |
1 June 1967 | 17 April 1968 | 321 days | 9 years, 214 days | 1970 1973 1975 1977 | |
| 2 June 1970 | 15 February 1979 | 8 years, 258 days | |||||||||
| 5. | 31st | Sir Richard Butler (1885–1966) KCMG |
|
Liberal & Country League | MP for Wooroora (1921–1938) Light (1938–1938) |
8 April 1927 | 17 April 1930 | 3 years, 9 days | 8 years, 210 days | 1927 1933 1938 | |
| 18 April 1933 | 5 November 1938 | 5 years, 201 days | |||||||||
| 6. | 25th | Archibald Peake (1859–1920) |
|
Liberal & Democratic Union | MP for Victoria & Albert (1902–1915) Alexandra (1915–1920) |
5 June 1909 | 3 June 1910 | 363 days | 6 years, 312 days | 1912 1918 | |
| Liberal Union | 17 February 1912 | 3 April 1915 | 3 years, 45 days | ||||||||
| 14 July 1917 | 8 April 1920 | 2 years, 269 days | |||||||||
| 7. | 20th | Charles Kingston (1850–1908) PC, KC |
|
Non-Party Liberalism |
MP for West Adelaide (1881–1900) |
16 June 1893 | 1 December 1899 |
|
6 years, 168 days | 1893 1896 1899 | |
| 8. | 45th | Jay Weatherill (1964– ) AO |
|
Labor | MP for Cheltenham (2002–2018) |
21 October 2011 | 19 March 2018 |
|
6 years, 149 days | 2014 | |
| 9. | 42nd | John Olsen (1945– ) AO |
|
Liberal | MP for Kavel (1992–2002) |
28 November 1996 | 22 October 2001 |
|
4 years, 328 days | 1997 | |
| 10. | 8th | Sir Henry Ayers (1821–1897) GCMG |
|
No Party Alignment | Member of the Legislative Council (1857–1893) |
15 July 1863 | 4 August 1864 | 1 year, 20 days | 4 years, 34 days | ||
| 20 September 1865 | 23 October 1865 | 33 days | |||||||||
| 3 May 1867 | 24 September 1868 | 1 year, 144 days | |||||||||
| 13 October 1868 | 3 November 1868 | 21 days | |||||||||
| 22 January 1872 | 22 July 1873 | 1 year, 151 days | |||||||||
| 11. | 28th | Sir Henry Barwell (1877–1959) KCMG |
|
Liberal Federation | MP for Stanley (1915–1925) |
8 April 1920 | 16 April 1924 |
|
4 years, 8 days | 1921 | |
| 12. | 46th | Steven Marshall (1968– ) |
|
Liberal | MP for Norwood (2010–2014) Dunstan (2014–) |
19 March 2018 | 21 March 2022 |
|
4 years, 2 days | 2018 | |
| 13. | 17th | Thomas Playford (1837–1915) |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Newcastle (1887–1890) East Torrens (1890–1894) |
11 June 1887 | 27 June 1889 | 2 years, 16 days | 3 years, 323 days | ||
| 19 August 1890 | 21 June 1892 | 1 year, 307 days | |||||||||
| 14. | 24th | Thomas Price (1852–1909) |
|
Labor | MP for Torrens (1902–1909) |
26 July 1905 | 5 June 1909 |
|
3 years, 314 days | 1905 1906 | |
| 15. | 22nd | John Jenkins (1851–1923) |
|
Non-Party Liberalism |
MP for Torrens (1901–1905) |
15 May 1901 | 1 March 1905 |
|
3 years, 290 days | 1902 | |
| 16. | 13th | Lionel Hill (1881–1963) |
|
Labor | MP for Port Pirie (1918–1933) |
28 August 1926 | 8 April 1927 | 223 days | 3 years, 160 days | 1930 | |
| 17 April 1930 | 14 August 1931 | 1 year, 119 days | |||||||||
| Parliamentary Labor | 14 August 1931 | 13 February 1933 | 1 year, 183 days | ||||||||
| 17. | 38th | Dr David Tonkin (1929–2000) AO |
|
Liberal | MP for Bragg (1970–1983) |
18 September 1979 | 10 November 1982 |
|
3 years, 53 days | 1979 | |
| 18. | 11th | Sir James Boucaut (1831–1916) KCMG |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Encounter Bay (1875–1878) |
28 March 1866 | 3 May 1867 | 1 year, 36 days | 3 years, 10 days | ||
| 3 June 1875 | 6 June 1876 | 1 year, 3 days | |||||||||
| 26 October 1877 | 27 September 1878 | 336 days | |||||||||
| 19. | 15th | Sir John Bray (1842–1894) KCMG, JP |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for East Adelaide (1871–1892) |
24 June 1881 | 16 June 1884 |
|
2 years, 358 days | ||
| 20. | 41st | Dean Brown (1943– ) AO |
Liberal | MP for Finniss (1993–2006) |
14 December 1993 | 28 November 1996 |
|
2 years, 350 days | 1993 | ||
| 21. | 14th | Sir William Morgan (1828–1883) KCMG |
|
No Party Alignment | Member of the Legislative Council (1867–1884) |
27 September 1878 | 24 June 1881 |
|
2 years, 270 days | ||
| 22. | 9th | Sir Arthur Blyth (1823–1891) KCMG |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Gumeracha (1857–1868) |
4 August 1864 | 22 March 1865 | 230 days | 2 years, 254 days | ||
| MP for Gumeracha (1870–1875) |
10 November 1871 | 22 January 1872 | 73 days | ||||||||
| 22 July 1873 | 3 June 1875 | 1 year, 316 days | |||||||||
| 23. | 16th | Sir John Downer (1843–1915) KCMG, QC |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Barossa (1878–1901) |
16 June 1885 | 11 June 1887 | 1 year, 360 days | 2 year, 239 days | ||
| Non-Party Conservatism |
15 October 1892 | 16 June 1893 | 244 days | ||||||||
| 24. | 47th | Peter Malinauskas (1980– ) |
|
Labor | Member of the Legislative Council (2015–2018) MP for Croydon (2018– ) |
21 March 2022 | Incumbent |
|
2 years, 258 days[1] | 2022 | |
| 25. | 4th | Sir Richard Hanson (1805–1876) |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Adelaide (1857–1861) |
30 September 1857 | 9 May 1860 |
|
2 years, 222 days | ||
| 26. | 13th | Sir John Colton (1823–1902) KCMG |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Noarlunga (1875–1878) (1889–1887) |
6 June 1876 | 26 October 1877 | 1 year, 142 days | 2 years, 142 days | ||
| 16 June 1884 | 16 June 1885 | 1 year, 0 days | |||||||||
| 27. | 29th | John Gunn (1884–1959) |
|
Labor | MP for Adelaide (1918–1926) |
16 April 1924 | 28 August 1926 |
|
2 years, 134 days | 1924 | |
| 28. | 27th | Crawford Vaughan (1874–1947) |
|
Labor | MP for Sturt (1915–1918) |
3 April 1915 | 13 February 1917 | 1 year, 316 days | 2 years, 102 days | 1915 | |
| National Labor | 13 February 1917 | 14 July 1917 | 151 days | ||||||||
| 29. | 34th | Frank Walsh (1897–1968) |
|
Labor | MP for Edwardstown (1956–1968) |
10 March 1965 | 1 June 1967 |
|
2 years, 83 days | 1965 | |
| 30. | 36th | Steele Hall (1928–2024) |
|
Liberal & Country League | MP for Gouger (1959–1973) |
17 April 1968 | 2 June 1970 |
|
2 years, 46 days | 1968 | |
| 31. | 10th | John Hart (1809–1873) |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Port Adelaide (1862–1866) Light (1868–1870) The Burra (1870–1873) |
23 October 1865 | 28 March 1866 | 156 days | 1 year, 339 days | ||
| 24 September 1868 | 13 October 1868 | 19 days | |||||||||
| 30 May 1870 | 10 November 1871 | 1 year, 164 days | |||||||||
| 32. | 19th | Sir Frederick Holder (1850–1909) KCMG |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Burra (1887–1901) |
21 June 1892 | 15 October 1892 | 116 days | 1 year, 274 days | ||
| Non-Party Liberalism |
8 December 1899 | 15 May 1901 | 1 year, 158 days | ||||||||
| 33. | 6th | George Waterhouse (1824–1906) |
|
No Party Alignment | Member of the Legislative Council (1860–1864) |
8 October 1861 | 4 July 1863 |
|
1 year, 269 days | ||
| 34. | 26th | John Verran (1856–1932) |
|
Labor | MP for Wallaroo (1901–1918) |
3 June 1910 | 17 February 1912 |
|
1 year, 259 days | 1910 | |
| 35. | 12th | Henry Strangways (1832–1920) |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for West Torrens (1862–1871) |
3 November 1868 | 30 May 1870 |
|
1 year, 208 days | ||
| 36. | 5th | Thomas Reynolds (1818–1875) |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Adelaide (1860–1862) |
9 May 1860 | 8 October 1861 |
|
1 year, 152 days | ||
| 37. | 40th | Lynn Arnold (1949– ) AO |
Labor | MP for Ramsay (1985–1993) |
4 September 1992 | 14 December 1993 |
|
1 year, 101 days | |||
| 38. | 18th | Sir John Cockburn (1850–1929) KCMG |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Mount Barker (1887–1898) |
27 June 1889 | 19 August 1890 |
|
1 year, 53 days | 1890 | |
| 39. | 1st | Boyle Travers Finniss (1807–1893) |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Adelaide (1857–1860) |
24 October 1856 | 21 August 1857 |
|
301 days | ||
| 40. | 37th | Des Corcoran (1928–2004) AO |
|
Labor | MP for Hartley (1977–1982) |
15 February 1979 | 18 September 1979 |
|
215 days | ||
| 41. | 7th | Francis Dutton (1818–1877) CMG |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Light (1862–1865) |
4 July 1863 | 15 July 1863 | 11 days | 193 days | ||
| 22 March 1865 | 20 September 1865 | 182 days | |||||||||
| 42. | 23rd | Sir Richard Butler (1850–1925) |
|
Non-Party Conservatism |
MP for Barossa (1902–1924) |
1 March 1905 | 26 July 1905 |
|
147 days | ||
| 43. | 43rd | Rob Kerin (1954– ) |
Liberal | MP for Frome (1993–2008) |
22 October 2001 | 5 March 2002 |
|
134 days | |||
| 44. | 32nd | Robert Richards (1885–1967) |
|
Parliamentary Labor | MP for Wallaroo (1918–1949) |
13 February 1933 | 18 April 1933 |
|
64 days | ||
| 45. | 3rd | Sir Robert Torrens (1814–1884) GCMG |
|
No Party Alignment | MP for Adelaide (1857–1858) |
1 September 1857 | 30 September 1857 |
|
29 days | ||
| 46. | 2nd | John Baker (1813–1872) |
|
No Party Alignment | Member of the Legislative Council (1857–1861) |
21 August 1857 | 1 September 1857 |
|
11 days | ||
| 47. | 21st | Vaiben Louis Solomon (1853–1908) |
|
Non-Party Conservatism |
MP for Northern Territory (1891–1901) |
1 December 1899 | 8 December 1899 |
|
7 days |
Total time in office of political parties in South Australia
editSouth Australian Parliament – 61402 days as of 4 December 2024
Current parties
edit- Australian Labor Party – 20492 days as of 4 December 2024.
- Liberal Party of Australia – 5619 days.
Other parties
edit- Conservative or Liberal (Pre 1975): 17415 days.
- Liberal and Country League – 12427 days.
- Liberal Federation – 2453 days.
- Liberal Union – 2141 days.
- Liberal and Democratic Union – 394 days.
Before political parties
edit- Independent – 13141 days
- Non-Party Conservatism – 401 days.
- Non-Party Liberalism – 4271 days.
Notes
edit- ^ Peter Malinauskas's time in office as of 4 December 2024
See also
edit- Premier of South Australia
- List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office
- List of Australian heads of government by time in office
- List of premiers of New South Wales by time in office
- List of premiers of Queensland by time in office
- List of premiers of Tasmania by time in office
- List of premiers of Victoria by time in office
- List of premiers of Western Australia by time in office
- List of chief ministers of the Northern Territory by time in office
- List of chief ministers of the Australian Capital Territory by time in office