Sussan Ley

Sussan Penelope Ley (née Braybrooks; born 14 December 1961) is an Australian retired politician who served as the leader of the Opposition from 2025 to 2026, holding office as the 16th leader of the Liberal Party. She was the member of Parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Farrer from 2001 to 2026, and served as a minister in the Abbott, Turnbull, and Morrison governments. Born into an English family in Nigeria, Ley grew up in the Trucial States (now the United Arab Emirates) and England, before moving to Australia as a teenager. Prior to entering politics, she worked as a commercial pilot, farmer and public servant based in Albury. She was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2001 federal election, winning the regional New South Wales seat of Farrer. Ley was appointed parliamentary secretary by John Howard in 2004, serving until the Coalition's defeat at the 2007 election. After the election, she held positions in the Nelson, Turnbull, and Abbott shadow ministries. After the Liberal–National Coalition's victory at the 2013 election, Ley was appointed Assistant Minister for Education by Tony Abbott, later joining the cabinet in 2014 as Minister for Health and Minister for Sport. She continued to serve in the cabinet until January 2017, resigning amid a scandal regarding her travel expenses. She would return to the ministry in August 2018 after Scott Morrison succeeded Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister, becoming an assistant minister and later returning to cabinet in 2019 as Minister for the Environment, remaining in this position until the Coalition's defeat at the 2022 election. Ley was elected unopposed as deputy leader of the Liberal Party under Peter Dutton after the 2022 defeat. After Dutton lost his seat in the Coalition's landslide defeat at the 2025 election, she was elected Liberal...