An election for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia took place on 11 March 1983, following the resignation of Malcolm Fraser following his defeat at the 1983 federal election. The contest was won by Andrew Peacock over John Howard by 36 votes to 20.
Candidates John Howard, incumbent deputy leader, former treasurer, member for Bennelong Andrew Peacock, former minister for industry, member for Kooyong Background Outgoing Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser resigned his leadership on the 6th of March after losing the 1983 election to Bob Hawke in order to allow the party to refresh and unite. Likewise, he would go on to resign his seat in parliament, at the relatively young, age of 52. Acknowledging he still had a strong and keen interest in politics but wanted to allow the party to grow under new leadership.
Results
The following tables gives the ballot results:
Leadership ballot Name Votes Percentage Andrew Peacock 36 64.3 John Howard 20 35.7
Deputy leadership ballot Candidate Votes % John Howard 30 53.6 Ian Macphee 12 21.4 Steele Hall 9 16.1 John Moore 3 5.4 Michael Hodgman 2 3.6
Aftermath The Liberal Party under the leadership of Peacock went on to lose the 1984 election to a politically and electorally strong Prime Minister Bob Hawke. The Liberal Party and Peacock Leadership had already been viewed by some as divided and fragile, as such would eventually result in Howard winning leadership in 1985
See also 1983 Australian federal election
References