Timeline: Will Hodgman’s key moments from 2002–2020

From a lawyer to the state’s 45th Premier — take a look back on Will Hodgman’s rise to the top.

MARCH 2002: Former lawyer Will Hodgman is elected to the House of Assembly in the seat of Franklin, with 12.37 per cent of first preferences. A Labor Government led by Premier Jim Bacon is re-elected. Mr Hodgman is appointed Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Will Hodgman, Sue Napier, Rene Hidding, Peter Gutwein, Brett Whiteley, Jeremy Rockliff and Michael Hodgman in 2002.

MARCH 2006: Mr Hodgman is re-elected, receiving 21.98 per cent of first preferences, the third highest individual vote ever recorded in the seat of Franklin. He is appointed state Liberal leader and Leader of the Opposition, replacing Rene Hidding, after Labor again forms government under the leadership of Paul Lennon.

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MARCH 2010: The 2010 state election results in a hung parliament. Labor, under Premier David Bartlett, forms a minority Government with the support of the Greens.

Premier Will Hodgman with Wife Nicky after he won the election in 2014.

MARCH 2014: Mr Hodgman becomes the state’s 45th Premier, leading the Liberal Party to Government and securing the largest majority since the 25-member parliament was established in 1998. He replaces the state’s first female premier, Lara Giddings.

NOVEMBER 2014: Chinese president Xi Jinping visits Tasmania following an invitation by Mr Hodgman in April.

Chinese president Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan meet a baby Tasmanian devil from Bonorong Wildlife Park with Premier Will Hodgman.

APRIL 2017: In parliament, the Hodgman Government delivers an apology to the LGBTI community for the state’s anti-gay criminal laws, that were repealed in 1997. Tasmania was the last Australian jurisdiction to repeal anti-homosexuality laws.

MARCH 2018: Mr Hodgman leads the Liberals to Government for a second consecutive term, with a majority of 13 seats. He personally receives 27,184 first preference votes, the highest number ever in a Tasmanian state election.

Premier Will Hodgman shows his displeasure at Sue Hickey after she was surprisingly nominated for Speaker and won. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

MAY 2018: Rookie Liberal MP Sue Hickey blindsides the Premier to become the new Speaker of the House of Assembly, accepting a nomination from Labor and the Greens.

DECEMBER 2019: In an end-of-year interview, Mr Hodgman tells the Mercury he plans to remain Premier until the 2022 election and beyond.

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JANUARY 2020: Mr Hodgman announces he will resign from politics. He is one of the few Australian state politicians to have never spent a day on the backbench. He spends his entire tenure in the House of Assembly as Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Leader of the Opposition and Premier.