Warren Truss

The Honourable Warren Truss
16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
In office 18 September 2013 – 18 February 2016
Prime Minister	Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Anthony Albanese
Succeeded by	Barnaby Joyce
Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development
In office 18 September 2013 – 18 February 2016
Prime Minister	Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Anthony Albanese (Infrastructure and Transport) Sharon Bird (Regional Development)
Succeeded by	Darren Chester (Infrastructure and Transport) Fiona Nash (Regional Development)
Leader of the National Party
In office 3 December 2007 – 11 February 2016
Deputy	Nigel Scullion Barnaby Joyce
Preceded by	Mark Vaile
Succeeded by	Barnaby Joyce
Minister for Trade
In office 10 August 2006 – 3 December 2007
Prime Minister	John Howard
Preceded by	Mark Vaile
Succeeded by	Simon Crean
Minister for Transport and Regional Services
In office 6 July 2005 – 10 August 2006
Prime Minister	John Howard
Preceded by	John Anderson
Succeeded by	Mark Vaile
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
In office 20 July 1999 – 6 July 2005
Prime Minister	John Howard
Preceded by	Mark Vaile
Succeeded by	Peter McGauran
Member of the Australian Parliament for Wide Bay
In office 24 March 1990 – 9 May 2016
Preceded by	Clarrie Millar
Succeeded by	Llew O'Brien
Personal details
Born	Warren Errol Truss 8 October 1948 Kingaroy, Queensland, Australia
Political party	National Party (Federal) Liberal National Party (State)
Other political affiliations	Coalition
Spouse(s)	Lyn Truss
Website	Official website Warren Truss on Twitter

Warren Errol Truss (born 8 October 1948) an Australian retired politician, who served as the 16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott Government and the Turnbull Government.^[1] Truss served as the federal leader of the National Party of Australia (The Nationals) between 2007 and 11 February 2016 when he announced his decision to retire and not contest the 2016 federal election.^[2][3][4] He was the member of the House of Representatives for Wide Bay from the 1990 election until his retirement in May 2016. Following the merger of the Queensland branches of the Nationals and Liberals, Truss was re-elected in 2010 for the Liberal National Party.

Early life

Truss was born in the region of Kingaroy, Queensland. He attended a small state school and was a bean farmer before he entered politics.^[5] He was chair of the Sugar Coast Burnett Regional Tourism Board and a councillor of the Shire of Kingaroy 1976–90.^[6] He was Chairman of Kingaroy Shire Council from 1983 to 1990.^[7]

Politics

Truss's first attempt at a parliamentary seat was in the Queensland state parliament as the Nationals candidate at the 1988 Barambah by-election, triggered by the retirement of former premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. However, Truss lost in an upset to the Citizens Electoral Council candidate Trevor Perrett, who later joined the National Party.^[8]

Parliament

Truss was elected to the safe National seat of Wide Bay at the 1990 election. He was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry 1994–96.

With the Liberal/National Coalition defeating the Australian Labor Party at the 1996 election, Truss was appointed Deputy Leader of the House 1997–98, Minister for Customs and Consumer Affairs 1997–98, and Minister for Community Services 1998–99. He was promoted to the John Howard cabinet and served as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 1999–2005.^[6]

Nationals leadership

In June 2005 John Anderson announced his intention to resign as National Party Leader. Deputy Leader Mark Vaile was elected the new Leader, and Truss was elected Deputy Leader. In the reshuffled ministry following Anderson's resignation Truss became Minister for Transport and Regional Services.

Truss in 2009

In 2006, following the AWB oil for food scandal, Truss and Vaile swapped portfolios, with Truss becoming Minister for Trade and Vaile taking the Transport and Regional Services portfolio until the defeat of the Liberal/National Coalition government at the 2007 election.^[6]

After the election, Mark Vaile resigned as National Party Leader, citing the party's need for "generational renewal". Truss was elected leader of the federal National Party of Australia on 3 December 2007.^[9][10][11]

In 2008, Coalition leader Malcolm Turnbull appointed Truss as Shadow Minister for Trade, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government.^[12] He retained that portfolio after Tony Abbott became Coalition leader in late 2009.^[13] Following the 2010 election, Truss became Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport.^[14]

Deputy Prime Minister

Truss retained his seat in the 2013 Federal election, in which the Coalition was elected to a strong majority government. On 18 September, Truss was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, per a longstanding agreement between the Liberals and Nationals. The leader of the Nationals has ranked second in all but two non-Labor governments since the Coalition was first formed in 1923.

On 11 February 2016 Truss announced his decision to retire from politics at the 2016 federal election and immediately stood aside as Leader of The Nationals. Barnaby Joyce was elected as Leader and was sworn as the Deputy Prime Minister.^[2][3][4] Truss also resigned from the Turnbull Ministry.^[15]

Truss's leadership of the Nationals was considered steady, albeit rarely visible.^[16] He lifted the party's representation in the House of Representatives from ten seats in 2007 to 15 seats in 2013.^[16]

Honours and awards

On 1 January 2001 Warren Truss was awarded the Centenary Medal for 'service as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry'.^[17]

In 2014, the South Burnett Regional Council named their Kingaroy Chambers the 'Warren Truss Chamber' in recognition of Truss's time as Mayor of the former Kingaroy Shire.

References

1. "Tony Abbott's cabinet and outer ministry". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
2. Murphy, Katharine (11 February 2016). "Barnaby Joyce wins Nationals leadership, Fiona Nash named deputy". The Guardian. Australia. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
3. Gartrell, Adam (11 February 2016). "Parliament pays tribute to retiring deputy PM Warren Truss ahead of Barnaby Joyce elevation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
4. Keany, Francis (11 February 2016). "Barnaby Joyce elected unopposed as new Nationals leader". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
5. "Warren Truss: from bean farmer to Deputy PM — and now retirement". The Australian. News Corp Australia. 11 February 2016.
6. "The Hon Warren Truss MP, Member for Wide Bay (Qld)". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 8 November 2007.
7. "Landscapes of Change", by Dr Tony Mathews, p688
8. "Political Chronicle: Australia and Papua New Guinea January–June 1988.". Wiley InterScience. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
9. Pearlman,, Jonathan (4 December 2007). "Nationals decide it is a matter of Truss". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
10. Murphy, Katharine (29 November 2007). "Truss puts his hand up for Nats job". The Age. Fairfax. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
11. "Truss wins Nationals leadership". ABC News. ABC. 3 December 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
12. "Appointment of Shadow Ministry". Liberal.org.au. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
13. http://www.australia.to/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17088:a-reshaped-coalition-team-for-australias-future&catid=72:australian-news&Itemid=200
14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
15. Massola, James (13 February 2016). "Cabinet reshuffle: Malcolm Turnbull announces new frontbench as Mal Brough resigns". The Age. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
16. "Malcolm Turnbull's challenge: replace Warren Truss, Andrew Robb and Stuart Robert". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
17. It's an honour entry – Centenary Medal – 1 January 2001 Citation: For service as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

External links

• Warren Truss official website
• Electoral Division of Wide Bay (Qld) The Hon Warren Truss MP