Malcolm Turnbull

Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (24 October 1954—) is an Australian former politician and businessman who was the 29th prime minister of Australia, from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Turnbull graduated from the University of Sydney as a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, before attending Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a Bachelor of Civil Law degree. For more than two decades, he worked as a journalist, lawyer, merchant banker, and venture capitalist.

Turnbull was first elected to the Australian House of Representatives as for Wentworth in New South Wales at the 2004 election, and was Minister for the Environment and Water in the Howard government in 2007. He won the leadership of the Liberal Party in 2008. However, his support of a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme proposed by the Rudd government in December 2009 led in turn to a leadership challenge by Tony Abbott, who defeated Turnbull by a single vote. Two years later, Turnbull challenged Abbott, successfully reclaiming the leadership of the Liberal Party by ten votes. He was sworn in as prime minister the following day, on 15 September 2015.

In October 2015, Prime Minister Turnbull was quoted as saying he didn’t support voluntary euthanasia laws, and that it was unlikely any government would.

“It isn’t a measure that I would support personally, but these issues have been considered in the past and may well be in the future,” he told ABC radio.

“But, you know, it’s fraught with practical difficulties and of course fraught with very significant moral difficulties.” (Vickery, 2015)

On 24 August 2018, a leadership spill led to Scott Morrison replacing Turnbull as Prime Minister. Turnbull resigned from Parliament shortly afterwards.

(via Wikipedia)

Vickery, K. (2015, October 30). Malcolm Turnbull rules out legalising euthanasia. News.com.au. https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/malcolm-turnbull-rules-out-legalising-euthanasia/news-story/17361f820f2f6634156b172f01bff29c