Profile: Former Australian PM Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott was already a polarising determine when he grew to become prime minister of Australia in 2013.

A former Rhodes Scholar who as soon as wished to be a monk, he attracted early criticism for gaffes and was famously known as a misogynist by former Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

In September 2015, he was ousted as prime minister by his colleague Malcolm Turnbull after a tumultuous premiership.

Now the UK authorities is alleged to be contemplating appointing him to the board negotiating post-Brexit commerce offers.

The appointment – which has but to be formally confirmed – has attracted a whole lot of remark from British MPs, a lot of it damaging.

However authorities ministers have downplayed claims Mr Abbott’s previous feedback present he’s a “homophobe” or a “misogynist” – and confused his expertise in negotiating commerce offers.

Mr Abbott was additionally a eager supporter of Brexit, and has argued that the UK has nothing to feat from a “no deal” exit from EU buying and selling guidelines on the finish of this yr.

He struck up a friendship with Boris Johnson when the latter was international secretary, and when Mr Johnson gained final yr’s basic election, the previous Australian PM tweeted that his British buddy “has the braveness and the fervour to maintain Britain nice”.

‘Mad monk’

Tony Abbott was born in 1957 in England to Australian dad and mom who returned to Sydney a couple of years later.

After graduating in economics and regulation from the College of Sydney, the place he was additionally a number one scholar boxer, he attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, learning politics and philosophy.

He briefly skilled as a Catholic priest, earlier than working as a journalist for the Australian newspaper.

He then labored as an adviser to the Liberal Social gathering, earlier than getting into politics in 1994 when he was elected to symbolize the prosperous Warringah district of Sydney.

Underneath former Prime Minister John Howard, he served as an employment minister, between 1998 and 2001 and as minister for well being and ageing in 2003.

In 2009, he narrowly beat incumbent Malcolm Turnbull in a celebration management vote, successful 42 votes to Mr Turnbull’s 41. Many pundits have been shocked by the consequence, given Mr Abbott’s gaffe-prone historical past.

As chief of the opposition, Mr Abbott’s aggressive method earned him a number of nicknames. His techniques led some to name him “Tear-down Tony” or “Mad Monk” – a reference to his time spent coaching as a priest.

He constantly voted in opposition to enjoyable legal guidelines on abortion, same-sex marriages and stem cell analysis. In 2010, he informed a 60 Minutes interview that he would “in all probability really feel a bit threatened” by homosexuality however later apologised for the comment.

His stance on social points, and his poor polling amongst girls, led some to say that Mr Abbott has a “girls drawback”. In October 2012, Ms Gillard’s blistering speech in parliament accusing him of misogyny, highlighting feedback he had made about girls in authority, went viral on-line.

‘Cease the boats’

He took on Labor’s Kevin Rudd – who ousted Ms Gillard as Labor chief – within the September 2013 polls and secured a convincing win.

Upon his election as prime minister, Mr Abbott was criticised for less than having one girl, Liberal deputy chief Julie Bishop, in his cupboard.

Forward of the election, Mr Abbott had argued for powerful border controls, decrease taxes and a smaller authorities.

He supported Labor’s coverage of processing asylum seekers offshore, and went additional – calling for asylum boats to be rotated and for these in Australia authorized as refugees to be restricted to short-term visas.

He adopted via on these guarantees, to nice controversy, establishing a military-led border patrol known as Operation Sovereign Borders.

Uncooked onion

Mr Abbott was applauded for pushing for an investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airways flight MH17, which killed 38 Australians.

He additionally controversially threatened to “shirtfront” Russian chief Vladimir Putin forward of the November G20 summit in Brisbane over the MH17 incident – however the two appeared cordial when the assembly occurred.

In July 2014, the Australian Senate voted to repeal a carbon tax, a levy on the most important polluters, that the earlier Labor authorities had applied, one thing Mr Abbott had strongly argued for.

He dismissed local weather change as “faddish”, however mentioned he’s not a local weather sceptic.

He has mentioned he accepts that “local weather change is actual, humanity makes a contribution,” however he informed a climate-sceptic thinktank, the International Warming Coverage Basis, that it’s “in all probability doing good; or no less than, extra good than hurt.”

He argued that increased concentrations of carbon dioxide act as “plant meals” and “are literally greening the planet and serving to to raise agricultural yields”.

In December 2019, he claimed that the world was “within the grip of a local weather cult”.

Mr Abbott’s administration concluded a sequence of free commerce offers with China, Japan and South Korea.

In direction of the tip of his premiership he has began shedding favour with voters, who disagreed along with his proposed modifications to school charges and Medicare. His determination to award an Australian knighthood to the Duke of Edinburgh in January 2015 was additionally met with derision.

In the identical yr, a video of Mr Abbott biting right into a uncooked onion, on a go to to a farm in Tasmania, went viral. He later defined the weird incident, saying it was “lovely” to eat and he wished to indicate his “appreciation” to the farmer.

After a management election, which he misplaced to Mr Turnball, he returned to the backbenches and was re-elected to his Warringah seat in 2016. He ultimately misplaced his seat on the 2019 federal election.

Brexit commerce appointment

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In the summertime of 2020, experiences emerged that Mr Abbott could possibly be appointed to a task within the UK’s post-Brexit commerce talks.

Labour opposition and a few authorities Tory MPs say he’s unfit to symbolize the UK resulting from his views on local weather change and previous “misogynist” and “homophobic” feedback.

Labour chief Sir Keir Starmer mentioned: “I’ve actual considerations about Tony Abbott, I do not suppose he is the suitable individual for the job. If I used to be prime minister, I would not appoint him.”

Conservative former minister Caroline Nokes, who chairs the Ladies and Equalities choose committee, was essentially the most vociferous in her condemnation of Mr Abbott’s rumoured appointment, telling the BBC’s Politics Reside: “I’m not certain I can give you phrases for a way terrible I believe it’s.”

However the UK’s commerce minister, Greg Palms, informed MPs he welcomed Mr Abbott’s want to “assist this nation out”, whereas Well being Secretary Matt Hancock mentioned he didn’t consider Mr Abbott is homophobic or misogynistic, and when pushed, added: “He’s additionally an skilled on commerce.”