Mathias Cormann

As government leader in the upper house, Cormann became third in line to serve as acting prime minister when necessary. He fulfilled this role for several days in February 2018, during a unique set of circumstances in which Prime Minister Turnbull made a state visit to the United States, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce took personal leave amid scandal surrounding an affair with a staffer, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party Julie Bishop made official visits to Europe in her role as Foreign Minister.

In January 2018, Cormann was awarded with the rank of Grand Cross with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by Ambassador Anna Prinz on behalf of the Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier for his work "in advancing German-Australian relations."

Cormann personally opposes same-sex marriage and in 2017 argued "for a postal vote plebiscite to be held before a parliamentary vote on the issue". After that survey went ahead and found most Australians support same-sex marriage, Cormann chose to vote in favour of the bill legalising same-sex marriage.

On 20 September 2015 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promoted Cormann to the position of Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate; and between February and July 2016 served as the Special Minister of State in the First Turnbull Ministry, after acting in the role since December 2015. Cormann is currently serving as the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the Vice-President of the Executive Council.

When the Coalition won government in 2013, Cormann became the Finance Minister, a role which he has held since under Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull. Although he publicly supported Abbott in the 2015 leadership spill, Cormann was promoted by Turnbull to take on the additional roles of Special Minister of State in 2016, and Leader of the Government in the Senate in 2017.

In Opposition, Cormann served as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration (2008–09), Shadow Minister for Employment Participation, Apprenticeships and Training (2009–2010) and as Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation (2010–2013). In the Senate he chaired the Fuel and Energy Select Committee (2008–2010) and the Scrutiny of New Taxes Committee (2010–2011).

Cormann's preselection for the coveted third position on the Liberal Senate ticket for the 2007 election was all but assured, at the expense of controversial Senator Ross Lightfoot, who withdrew from the preselection race and resigned from politics when he realised the numbers were against him. On the ABC's Stateline program on 27 April 2007, Lightfoot stated that he considered Cormann (although he stopped short of naming him) an "inappropriate person" to replace him. Lightfoot's main complaint was that there were "more appropriate people" to succeed him "who have served the party longer" and "who have been in the country longer".

When Senator Ian Campbell unexpectedly announced his planned resignation on 4 May 2007, Cormann was quickly preselected by the party to fill the resulting casual vacancy. Campbell formally resigned on 31 May 2007. Cormann was sworn in on 20 June 2007 and served the remaining four years of Ian Campbell's term until 2011. On 21 August 2010 Cormann was re-elected for a further six-year term as Senator for Western Australia and again on 2 July 2016.

He joined the Liberal Party in Western Australia and took on a job as ministerial chief-of-staff, then senior adviser to then-Premier of Western Australia, Richard Court. He then moved to federal politics, working for two years as a senior adviser to then Minister for Justice and Customs Chris Ellison. Between 2003 and 2008, Cormann was the state senior vice-president of the Liberal Party in Western Australia. He was also acting general manager of HBF, a WA-based health insurance company, until resigning in May 2007 to contest a Senate seat.

Cormann became an Australian citizen on Australia Day in 2000, which resulted in the automatic loss of his Belgian citizenship. This was re-confirmed prior to nominating for preselection as a candidate for the Senate.

Aged 21, Cormann joined the Christlich Soziale Partei (CSP) in Raeren, where he served as a municipal council member. From 1994 to 1996, Cormann served as an assistant to Member of the European Parliament Mathieu Grosch.

Born in the German-speaking town of Eupen in eastern Belgium, Cormann graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Catholic University of Leuven). As part of his university studies Cormann participated in a one-year student exchange program split between the University of East Anglia in Norwich and McGill University in Montreal respectively in 1993–94, where he first learned to speak English. At the age of 21, he became a councillor in his local area with the Christian Social Party. Following a visit to Perth in 1994, he migrated to Australia permanently.

Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann (/m ə ˈ t iː ə s ˈ k ɔːr m ən / ; German: [maˈtiːas ˈkɔʁman] ; born 20 September 1970) is an Australian Liberal Party politician serving as Minister for Finance since 2013 and as a Senator for Western Australia since 2007. Cormann served as Minister for Finance in the Abbott and Turnbull Government from 2013 to 2018 and in the Morrison Government since 2018. He also served as Minister for the Public Service from 2018 to 2019.