Long touted as a potential Nationals leader, David Littleproud's moment has arrived.
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The 45-year-old seized the leadership after defeating Barnaby Joyce in a party room ballot on Monday.
It has been a swift rise to the top for a man with politics in his blood and an ability to avoid the type of scandal which has plagued some of his colleagues.
Born for public office
Littleproud was born in 1976 in the town of Chinchilla, about 300 kilometres west of Brisbane.
His grandfather served as deputy mayor of the local shire and his father, Brian Littleproud, was a minister in the Queensland government in the late 1980s.
"It's a bit like growing up on the land, you know. You get it into your blood, you understand it, and want to be part of it," Littleproud said in an interview with The Canberra Times in February 2000.
Part of a small contingent of federal parliamentarians who don't hold a university degree, Littleproud forged a career as a rural banker before entering politics.
He was elected to Federal Parliament in 2016 as the representative of the sprawling regional Queensland seat of Maranoa.
The father of three held the seat at this year's election with a margin of more than 22 per cent, making it one of the safest electorates in the country.
Meteoric rise
Fewer than 18 months after making his first speech in Parliament, Littleproud was sitting around the cabinet table as Malcolm Turnbull's agriculture minister.
Littleproud ruled himself out of contention to replace Barnaby Joyce when he resigned as Nationals leader and deputy prime minister in February 2018, but was already being tipped for the role in the future.
After the 2019 election he was handed responsibility for water and drought, as well as emergency management, a role which saw him accompany then prime minister Scott Morrison on his ill-fated trip to Cobargo at the height of the Black Summer bushfire crisis.
Soon after, Bridget McKenzie's resignation amid the sports rorts scandal opened the door for Littleproud to claim the deputy leader's position. He also took back the agriculture portfolio.
In the news
While he's been far less outspoken than many of his Nationals colleagues, Littleproud has attracted his share of headlines.
In October 2020, he urged regional Australians to consider boycotting ANZ after it announced a new lending policy as part of its net-zero emissions push.
"Banks are not and should not try to become society's moral compass and arbiter - the Australian people decide that by who they elect," he said.
Littleproud was also just one of four MPs to vote against legalising same-sex marriage during the historic debate in Federal Parliament in 2017.
He had promised to vote in line with the wishes of his electorate. More than half of his constituents in Maranoa voted "no" in the postal vote.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
