Deputy Premier of South Australia

Deputy Premier of South Australia
South Australian Coat of Arms
Flag of South Australia
Incumbent Susan Close since 21 March 2022
Department of the Premier and Cabinet
Style	The Honourable
Member of	Parliament Cabinet Executive Council
Reports to	Premier of South Australia
Nominator	Premier of South Australia
Appointer	Governor of South Australia on the advice of the premier
Term length	At the Governor's pleasure
Formation	26 March 1968
First holder	Des Corcoran

The deputy premier of South Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of South Australia. The deputy premiership is a ministerial portfolio in the Cabinet of South Australia, and the deputy premier is appointed by the governor on the advice of the premier of South Australia.

The current deputy premier since 2022 is Susan Close of the South Australian Division of the Australian Labor Party.

History

The office of Deputy Premier was created in March 1968. The first to serve in the position was Labor deputy leader Des Corcoran. Prior to that time the term was sometimes used unofficially for the second-highest ranking minister in the government, usually the Treasurer.

In both Labor and Liberal governments, the deputy premier is usually the party's deputy leader.

Two deputy premiers have subsequently become Premier in their own right: Des Corcoran and Rob Kerin. This last happened in 2001, when Rob Kerin became premier after John Olsen's resignation. Dean Brown did the reverse, becoming Deputy Premier to Rob Kerin, 5 years after his own premiership ended at the hands of John Olsen.

South Australia's longest-serving deputy premier is Kevin Foley, who served in the position from March 2002 to February 2011.

Duties

The duties of the deputy premier are to act on behalf of the premier in his or her absence overseas or on leave. The deputy premier has additionally always held at least one substantive portfolio. It is possible for a minister to hold only the portfolio of Deputy Premier, but this has never happened.

If the premier were to die, become incapacitated or resign, the Governor would normally appoint the deputy premier as Premier. If the governing or majority party had not yet elected a new leader, that appointment would be on an interim basis. Should a different leader emerge, that person would then be appointed Premier.

List of deputy premiers of South Australia

No.	Portrait	Name Electoral district (Birth–death)	Term of office		Party		Premier
			Term start	Term end
1		Des Corcoran MHA for Millicent (1928–2004)	26 March 1968	16 April 1968		Labor		Don Dunstan Labor (1967–1968)
None (16 April 1968–2 July 1970)								Steele Hall Liberal and Country League (1968–1970)
(1)		Des Corcoran MHA for Millicent (until 1975) MHA for Coles (1975–1977) MHA for Hartley (from 1977) (1928–2004)	2 July 1970	15 March 1979		Labor		Don Dunstan Labor (1970–1979)
2		Hugh Hudson MHA for Brighton (1930–1993)	15 March 1979	18 September 1979		Labor		Des Corcoran Labor (1979)
3		Roger Goldsworthy MHA for Kavel (born 1929)	18 September 1979	10 November 1982		Liberal		David Tonkin Liberal (1979–1982)
4		Roger Goldsworthy MHA for Adelaide (1927–1998)	10 November 1982	16 July 1985		Labor		John Bannon Labor (1982–1992)
5		Don Hopgood MHA for Baudin (born 1938)	16 July 1985	4 September 1992		Labor
6		Frank Blevins MHA for Giles (1939–2013)	4 September 1992	14 December 1993		Labor		Lynn Arnold Labor (1992–1993)
7		Stephen Baker MHA for Waite (born 1946)	14 December 1993	28 November 1996		Liberal		Dean Brown Liberal (1993–1996)
8		Graham Ingerson MHA for Bragg (born 1941)	28 November 1996	7 July 1998		Liberal		John Olsen Liberal (1996–2001)
9		Rob Kerin MHA for Frome (born 1954)	7 July 1998	22 October 2001		Liberal
10		Dean Brown MHA for Finniss (born 1943)	22 October 2001	5 March 2002		Liberal		Rob Kerin Liberal (2001–2002)
11		Kevin Foley MHA for Port Adelaide (born 1960)	5 March 2002	6 February 2011		Labor		Mike Rann Labor (2002–2011)
12		John Rau MHA for Enfield (born 1959)	7 February 2011	19 March 2018		Labor		Jay Weatherill Labor (2011–2018)
13		Vickie Chapman MHA for Bragg	19 March 2018	22 November 2021		Liberal		Steven Marshall Liberal (2018–2022)
14		Dan van Holst Pellekaan MHA for Stuart	23 November 2021	21 March 2022		Liberal
15		Susan Close MHA for Port Adelaide (born 1967)	21 March 2022	Incumbent		Labor		Peter Malinauskas Labor (since 2022)

References

• Statistical Record of the Legislature 1836 – 2007