It’s been just over a week since opposition leader Peter Dutton lost his seat in the 2025 federal election, and now the Liberal Party have named his successor – Sussan Ley.
The federal member for Farrer, which covers the south-western NSW towns of Albury and Griffith, beat out the shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, 58, on Tuesday with 29 votes to five in the race to lead the Liberals.
At a press conference held shortly after her victory was announced, Sussan said it was an enormous privilege to be elected as the leader of the Liberal Party.
“I am humbled. I am honoured and I am up for the job,” she announced.
Here’s everything you need to know about Australia’s first female opposition leader, and the first woman to lead the Liberals in it’s 80-year history.
EARLY LIFE & EDUCATION
Sussan was born to English parents on December 14, 1961, in northern Nigeria’s capital city, Kano, before moving to the United Arab Emirates when she was just one.
The 63-year-old went to boarding school in England until she was 13, which is when her parents decided to move the family to a hobby farm in Toowoomba, QLD in 1974.
Due to a crash in beef prices, the family quickly sold the hobby farm and moved to Canberra, where her father Edgar began working for the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
In her late teens, Susan was interested in numerology and decided to add another ‘s’ into her first name to become Sussan.
“I read about this numerology theory that if you add the numbers that match the letters in your name you can change your personality,” Sussan told The Australian in 2015.
“I worked out that if you added an ‘s’ I would have an incredibly exciting, interesting life and nothing would ever be boring. It’s that simple.”
After graduating from Campbell High School, she studied at La Trobe University, University of New South Wales and Charles Sturt University to earn a master’s degree in taxation and accountancy.
Alongside her degrees, Sussan also gained a commercial pilot’s licence when she was 20 years old and later worked as a pilot.
Before stepping into her political career, Sussan served as the Director of Technical Training at the Australian Taxation Office in Albury from 1995 to 2001.
POLITICAL CAREER
Sussan’s political career began in 2001 when she was elected in the seat of Farrer, which she has now held for 24 years.
Under the Howard government, she was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary for Children and Youth Affairs as well as the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forrestry in 2004 and 2006, respectively.
Following the 2007 election, Sussan became the Shadow Minister for Housing and Shadow Minister for Status of Women, before moving to be the Shadow Minister for Customs and Justice in 2008.
She’s also served as the Assistant Minister for Education under the Abbott government, the Minister for Aged Care under Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership and the Minister for the Environment under the Morrison government.
However, she generated controversy in 2017 when it was revealed Sussan purchased an $800,000 investment property on the Gold Coast while on a trip funded by taxpayers, sparking an investigation by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
“Sussan has led a remarkable life and becoming the first woman to lead the Liberal Party is a milestone for Sussan and our party,” Angus Taylor said in a statement following Sussan’s appointment as opposition leader.
SUSSAN LEY’S FAMILY
Outside of Parliament House, Sussan lives in Albury and is a mum to her three kids Isabel, Paul and Georgina, and a grandmother to six.
She met her ex-husband John Ley while aerial stock mustering in south-west QLD, and they married in 1987, and divorced in 2004.
Outside of her career in federal politics, Sussan enjoys all things aeronautical, a good true crime thriller and exercising regularly.
In 2023, Sussan also dressed up as popstar Tina Turner in the House of Representatives in support of a cancer support fundraiser, which raised over $100,000 to support cancer research.
