Campbell Newman

Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman (born 12 August 1963) is an Australian former politician who served as the 38th Premier of Queensland from 26 March 2012 to 14 February 2015. He served as the member for Ashgrove in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland between 24 March 2012 and 31 January 2015. He was LNP Leader from 2 April 2011 to 7 February 2015; Newman previously served as the 15th Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 27 March 2004 to 3 April 2011.

Newman was elected to the lord mayorship as a member of the Liberal Party. He became a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) following the July 2008 merger of the Queensland Liberals and the Nationals. In March 2011, Newman announced that he would challenge opposition leader John-Paul Langbroek for the leadership of the LNP. Langbroek resigned, and Newman was elected his successor. As Newman was not a member of the Legislative Assembly, former state Nationals leader Jeff Seeney was elected interim opposition leader while Newman headed the party's election team from outside the legislature.

Newman led the LNP in the 2012 state election, winning 78 of 89 seats from a 44-seat two-party swing, a record for Queensland. At the same time, he was elected to the seat of Ashgrove in western Brisbane. He was sworn in as premier two days later, becoming the first Brisbane-based non-Labor premier in 97 years. At the 2015 state election, the Newman-led LNP suffered a 14.0-point two-party swing, resulting in a hung parliament—of 89 seats, Labor won 44 seats and the statewide two-party vote while the LNP were reduced to 42 seats. Newman himself lost his own seat to his Labor predecessor, Kate Jones. On 10 February 2015, Newman submitted his resignation and he was replaced as premier by Annastacia Palaszczuk four days later as Labor formed a minority government.

In July 2021, Newman resigned from the LNP, and in August 2021 announced he had joined the Liberal Democrats and would be standing as the party's lead Senate candidate in Queensland at the 2022 Australian federal election. Newman was the first premier of Queensland from the Liberal National Party.

Campbell Newman was born on 12 August 1963 in Canberra, to parents who later both represented Tasmania in the federal parliament and were both ministers in Liberal–National coalition governments. His father, Kevin, represented the federal seat of Bass from 1975 to 1984, and was a minister in the Fraser government. His mother, Jocelyn Newman (née Mullett), was a Senator for Tasmania (1986–2002) and a minister in the Howard government. Campbell Newman was raised in Tasmania, attending Launceston Church Grammar School, then returned to Canberra.

He joined the Australian Army as a staff cadet at the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1981, graduating as a lieutenant in 1985. He spent 13 years in the army, resigning in 1993 with the rank of major. He has an honours degree in civil engineering from the University of New South Wales.

He moved to Queensland, where he graduated with an MBA from the University of Queensland, then worked as a consultant for PA Consulting Group, and subsequently for the agricultural storage company Grainco, before deciding to stand for election as lord mayor of Brisbane.

In the 2004 election, Newman narrowly defeated Labor incumbent Tim Quinn. However, a majority of wards returned Labor councillors, meaning Newman had to work with a Labor-dominated civic cabinet and a Labor deputy mayor.