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Deputy Premier of South Australia

South Australian deputy head of government (1968, 1970-)

Summary

South Australian deputy head of government (1968, 1970-)

Field	Value
post	Deputy Premier
body	South Australia
flag	Flag of South Australia.svg
flagsize	120px
flagcaption	Flag of South Australia
insignia	South Australian Coat of Arms.svg
insigniasize	120px
insigniacaption	South Australian Coat of Arms
image	Member of the South Australian Legislative Council Kyam Joseph Maher.jpg
imagesize	180px
incumbent	Kyam Maher
incumbentsince	19 September 2025
department	Department of the Premier and Cabinet
style	The Honourable (formal)
Deputy Premier (informal)
member_of
reports_to	Premier of South Australia
nominator	Premier of South Australia
appointer	Governor of South Australia
appointer_qualified	on the advice of the premier
termlength	At the governor's pleasure
formation	26 March 1968
first	Des Corcoran
salary	A$402,880 (2025)

Deputy Premier (informal) The deputy premier of South Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of South Australia. The deputy premiership is a ministerial portfolio in the Cabinet of South Australia, and the deputy premier is appointed by the governor on the advice of the premier of South Australia.

The current deputy premier since 2025 is Kyam Maher of the South Australian Division of the Australian Labor Party.

History

The office of Deputy Premier was created in March 1968. The first to serve in the position was Labor deputy leader Des Corcoran. Prior to that time the term was sometimes used unofficially for the second-highest ranking minister in the government, usually the Treasurer.

In both Labor and Liberal governments, the deputy premier is usually the party's deputy leader.

Two deputy premiers have subsequently become Premier in their own right: Des Corcoran and Rob Kerin. This last happened in 2001, when Rob Kerin became premier after John Olsen's resignation. Dean Brown did the reverse, becoming Deputy Premier to Rob Kerin, 5 years after his own premiership ended at the hands of John Olsen.

South Australia's longest-serving deputy premier is Kevin Foley, who served in the position from March 2002 to February 2011.

Duties

The duties of the deputy premier are to act on behalf of the premier in his or her absence overseas or on leave. The deputy premier has additionally always held at least one substantive portfolio. It is possible for a minister to hold only the portfolio of Deputy Premier, but this has never happened.

If the premier were to die, become incapacitated or resign, the Governor would normally appoint the deputy premier as Premier. If the governing or majority party had not yet elected a new leader, that appointment would be on an interim basis. Should a different leader emerge, that person would then be appointed Premier.

List of deputy premiers of South Australia

No.	Portrait	Name
Electoral district
(Birth–death)	Term of office	Party	Premier	Term start	Term end	1	(1)	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
[[File:Des_Corcoran.jpg	145x145px]]	Des Corcoran
MHA for Millicent
(1928–2004)	26 March
1968	16 April
1968	Australian Labor Party}};		Labor	Australian Labor Party}};		Don Dunstan
Labor
(1967–1968)
None
(16 April 1968–2 July 1970)	Liberal and Country League (SA)}};		Steele Hall
Liberal and Country League
(1968–1970)
[[File:Des_Corcoran.jpg	145x145px]]	Des Corcoran
MHA for Millicent
(until 1975)
MHA for Coles
(1975–1977)
MHA for Hartley
(from 1977)
(1928–2004)	2 July
1970	15 March
1979	Australian Labor Party}};		Labor	Australian Labor Party}};		Don Dunstan
Labor
(1970–1979)
	Hugh Hudson
MHA for Brighton
(1930–1993)	15 March
1979	18 September
1979	Australian Labor Party}};		Labor	Australian Labor Party}};		Des Corcoran
Labor
(1979)
	Roger Goldsworthy
MHA for Kavel
(1929–2025)	18 September
1979	10 November
1982	Liberal Party of Australia}};		Liberal	Liberal Party of Australia}};		David Tonkin
Liberal
(1979–1982)
	Jack Wright
MHA for Adelaide
(1927–1998)	10 November
1982	16 July
1985	Australian Labor Party}};		Labor	Australian Labor Party}};		John Bannon
Labor
(1982–1992)
	Don Hopgood
MHA for Baudin
(born 1938)	16 July
1985	4 September
1992	Australian Labor Party}};		Labor
	Frank Blevins
MHA for Giles
(1939–2013)	4 September
1992	14 December
1993	Australian Labor Party}};		Labor	Australian Labor Party}};		Lynn Arnold
Labor
(1992–1993)
	Stephen Baker
MHA for Waite
(born 1946)	14 December
1993	28 November
1996	Liberal Party of Australia}};		Liberal	Liberal Party of Australia}};		Dean Brown
Liberal
(1993–1996)
	Graham Ingerson
MHA for Bragg
(born 1941)	28 November
1996	7 July
1998	Liberal Party of Australia}};		Liberal	Liberal Party of Australia}};		John Olsen
Liberal
(1996–2001)
	Rob Kerin
MHA for Frome
(born 1954)	7 July
1998	22 October
2001	Liberal Party of Australia}};		Liberal
	Dean Brown
MHA for Finniss
(born 1943)	22 October
2001	5 March
2002	Liberal Party of Australia}};		Liberal	Liberal Party of Australia}};		Rob Kerin
Liberal
(2001–2002)
[[File:Kevin_Foley_Portrait_2009.JPG	148x148px]]	Kevin Foley
MHA for Port Adelaide
(born 1960)	5 March
2002	6 February
2011	Australian Labor Party}};		Labor	Australian Labor Party}};		Mike Rann
Labor
(2002–2011)
[[File:John_Rau.jpg	143x143px]]	John Rau
MHA for Enfield
(born 1959)	7 February
2011	19 March
2018	Australian Labor Party}};		Labor	Australian Labor Party}};		Jay Weatherill
Labor
(2011–2018)
[[File:Chapman2018_(cropped).jpg	136x136px]]	Vickie Chapman
MHA for Bragg	19 March
2018	22 November
2021	Liberal Party of Australia}};		Liberal	Liberal Party of Australia}};		Steven Marshall
Liberal
(2018–2022)
[[File:Van_Holst_Pellekaan.jpg	150x150px]]	Dan van Holst Pellekaan
MHA for Stuart	23 November
2021	21 March
2022	Liberal Party of Australia}};		Liberal
[[File:Susan_Close_MP_during_2018_election_campaign.jpg	137x137px]]	Susan Close
MHA for Port Adelaide
(born 1967)	21 March
2022	19 September 2025	Australian Labor Party}};		Labor	Australian Labor Party}};		Peter Malinauskas
Labor
(since 2022)
[[File:Member of the South Australian Legislative Council Kyam Joseph Maher.jpg	120x120px]]	Kyam Maher	19 September 2025	Incumbent	Australian Labor Party}};		Labor	Australian Labor Party}};

References

Statistical Record of the Legislature 1836 – 2007

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

deputy-premiers-of-south-australia lists-of-deputy-heads-of-government-of-australian-states-and-territories lists-of-people-from-south-australia ministers-of-the-south-australian-state-government

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