Special Minister of State

The Special Minister of State (SMOS) in the Government of Australia is currently Simon Birmingham since October 2020. Mathias Cormann previously held the position in the Morrison Government from 29 May 2019 to 30 October 2020 until his resignation from the Australian Senate and, thus, the position to nominate himself for OECD Secretary. The minister is responsible for various parliamentary, electoral, financial, public service, and oversight affairs.

Special Minister of State
Incumbent Simon Birmingham since 30 October 2020
Department of Finance
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia
Inaugural holder	Don Willesee
Formation	1972

Scope

The Special Minister of State administers their portfolio through the Department of Finance and a range of other government agencies, including:[1]

• Asset Management and Parliamentary Services (Government Business, Special Claims and Land Policy Division, Property and Construction Division & Ministerial and Parliamentary Services)
• Australian Electoral Commission
• Australian Government Information Management Office (Policy and Planning Divisions & the Agency Services Division)
• Australian National Audit Office
• Australian Public Service Commission
• Commonwealth Ombudsman
• Electoral Reform
• Government Advertising
• Parliamentary Integrity
• Public Interests Disclosure
• Register of Lobbyists
• Remuneration Tribunal

List of Special Ministers of State

The following individuals have been appointed as Special Ministers of State, or any of its precedent titles:[2]

Order	Minister	Party		Prime Minister	Title	Term start	Term end	Term in office
1	Don Willesee		Labor	Whitlam	Special Minister of State	19 December 1972	30 November 1973	346 days
2	Lionel Bowen					30 November 1973	6 June 1975	1 year, 188 days
3	Doug McClelland					6 June 1975	11 November 1975	158 days
4	Reg Withers		Liberal	Fraser		11 November 1975	22 December 1975	41 days
5	Mick Young		Labor	Hawke		11 March 1983	14 July 1983	125 days
6	Kim Beazley					14 July 1983	21 January 1984	191 days
n/a	Mick Young					21 January 1984	16 February 1987	3 years, 26 days
7	Michael Tate					16 February 1987	24 July 1987	158 days
8	Susan Ryan					24 July 1987	19 January 1988	179 days
9	Frank Walker			Keating		24 March 1993	25 March 1994	1 year, 1 day
10	Gary Johns					25 March 1994	11 March 1996	1 year, 352 days
11	Nick Minchin		Liberal	Howard		9 October 1997	21 October 1998	1 year, 12 days
12	Chris Ellison					21 October 1998	30 January 2001	2 years, 101 days
13	Eric Abetz					30 January 2001	27 January 2006	4 years, 362 days
14	Gary Nairn					27 January 2006	3 December 2007	1 year, 310 days
15	John Faulkner		Labor	Rudd		3 December 2007	9 June 2009	1 year, 188 days
16	Joe Ludwig					9 June 2009	24 June 2010	1 year, 97 days
				Gillard		24 June 2010	14 September 2010
17	Gary Gray					14 September 2010	25 March 2013	2 years, 192 days
18	Mark Dreyfus					25 March 2013	27 June 2013	177 days
				Rudd		27 June 2013	18 September 2013
19	Michael Ronaldson		Liberal	Abbott		18 September 2013	15 September 2015	2 years, 3 days
				Turnbull		15 September 2015	21 September 2015
20	Mal Brough					21 September 2015	29 December 2015	99 days
21	Mathias Cormann					29 December 2015	19 July 2016	203 days
22	Scott Ryan					19 July 2016	13 November 2017	1 year, 117 days
n/a	Mathias Cormann					13 November 2017	23 August 2018	283 days
23	Alex Hawke			Morrison		28 August 2018	29 May 2019	274 days
n/a	Mathias Cormann					29 May 2019	30 October 2020	1 year, 154 days
24	Simon Birmingham					30 October 2020	Incumbent	95 days

References

1. http://www.smos.gov.au/portfolio.html
2. "Ministries and Cabinets". 43rd Parliamentary Handbook: Historical information on the Australian Parliament. Parliament of Australia. 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2013.

External links

• Special Minister of State website