Who is Sussan Ley? Meet the new Opposition Leader

Sussan Ley’s historic appointment makes her the first woman to take on the role of Opposition leader and the first woman to be elected leader of the Liberal Party. This is what we know.

The Liberal Party has elected their new leader, with Sussan Ley beating Angus Taylor in a ballot 29-25.

The historic appointment makes Ms Ley the first woman to take on the role of Opposition leader and the first woman to be elected leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.

She’s spent the past 24 years in the parliament but came with a diverse background as a pilot, farmer and self-professed recovering punk rocker.

This is what we know.

Sussan Ley at home in Albury, NSW. Picture: Alex Coppel

Who is Sussan Ley?

Sussan Ley is a mother of three and grandmother of six.

How old is she?

She is 63 years old. She was born in Nigeria to English parents.

Where did she grow up?

She grew up in the Middle East and England before moving to the Australian bush in her teens before her family came to Canberra.

What did she do next?

After leaving high school Ley trained as a pilot and worked as an air traffic controller in Sydney. She then got a job as an aerial stock mustering pilot and it was in that role she learnt about rural Australia.

She met her then husband John and became a shearer’s cook, as well as a wool and beef farmer, before having her three kids Paul, Georgina and Isabel.

They were also involved in the wool and beef industry.

Ley went to university as a mature aged student, completing a degree in economics at a regional La Trobe University, and worked at the Taxation Office in Albury.

What formal education does she have?

A Bachelor of Economics from La Trobe University, a Masters in Tax from the University of New South Wales and a Masters in Accounting from Charles Sturt University.

When did she join the parliament?

Ley became the member for Farrer in 2001. The southern NSW seat stretches along the Murray River from the SA border in the west to Albury and Holbrook in the east.

It also encapsulates Griffith, up to Roto near Parkes in the north.

Newly appointed leader of the Liberal Party Sussan Ley and deputy leader Ted O'Brien. Picture: NewsWire / David Beach

What roles has she held during that time?

She served as a Cabinet Minister in the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments.

She has previously been Assistant Minister for Education (2013–2014), Minister for Health (2014–2016), Sport (2014–2017), Aged Care (2015–2016), and Health and Aged Care (2016–2017) but resigned from the ministry in January 2017 after a controversy over her travel expense claims.

But she returned to the ranks in 2018, when Scott Morrison succeeded Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister, becoming the Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories and then the Minister for Environment (2019-2022).

In Opposition, she became Peter Dutton’s deputy and was the spokesperson for women, industry, skills and training, as well as small and family business.

How much does she earn?

Ley was on $367,988 annually as deputy Liberal leader but will now receive more than $432,000 a year.

What is her voting history?

She has never voted against the majority of their party since February 2006.

What does she stand for?

Ley says she aligned with Liberal values through the hard work, the effort, the reward, the opportunity. She said when she ran for politics she knew that nobody in Canberra understood what life was like in the small rural community where she came from, and that fired her determination to walk into the government party room, led by John Howard.

How many properties does she own?

Her Albury home, an Albury private rental and a property bought on the Gold Coast.

What has Anthony Albanese said about her?

“I note the hypocrisy of Sussan Ley in coming to Perth and pretending that she wasn’t the person who moved a private members’ bill to ban this industry, along with other frontbench members of Peter Dutton’s Opposition in Jason Wood and others. They were busy campaigning for this live export industry to end. She’s the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party.” – Albanese in September 2024

How do you pronounce her surname?

Lee.

Originally published as Who is Sussan Ley? Meet the new Opposition Leader