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The Constitution of Western Australia does not explicitly provide for a premier, and the office was not formally listed as one of the executive offices until the appointment of Ross McLarty in 1947. Nonetheless, John Forrest immediately adopted the title on taking office in 1890, and it has been used ever since.
The office of Premier of Western Australia was created in 1890, when Western Australia was officially granted responsible government by Britain in 1889. John Forrest was the only Premier of Western Australia as a self-governing colony. Following Federation in 1901, Western Australia became an Australian State, and the responsibilities of the office of premier were diminished.
The premier must be a member of one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Western Australia. He or she is appointed by the governor (or, if the post of governor is vacant, the acting governor).
Since the rise of party politics in Western Australia, the premier has almost always been the leader of the political party or coalition of parties with the majority of seats in the lower House of the Parliament, the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, and must resign if he or she loses the support of the majority of that house.
The Constitution contains nothing to preclude the premier being a member of the upper House, the Western Australian Legislative Council. Historically and by convention, however, the premier is a member of the Assembly. The only exception has been Hal ColebatchSir Hal Pateshall Colebatch ( 1872 1953) was a colourful and controversial figure in West Australian politics. His brief term as State Premier in 1919 was only an interlude, in a long political career. The son of immigrants, Colebatch arrived at the Coolg, a member of the Legislative Council who accepted the premiership on the understanding that an Assembly seat would be found for him, and resigned a month later when no seat could be found.
For more information on the office of premier, see Premiers of the Australian statesThe Premiers of the Australian states are the heads of the executive governments in the six states of the Commonwealth of Australia. They perform the same functions at the state level as the Prime Minister of Australia performs at the national level..
| Premier | Party | Took office |
|---|---|---|
| Sir John Forrest | Forrest Party 1 | 29 December 1890 |
| George Throssell | Forrest Party 1 | 15 February 1901 |
| George Leake | Opposition 1 | 27 May 1901 |
| Alfred Morgans | Ministerialist 1 | 21 November 1901 |
| George Leake | Opposition 1 | 23 December 1901 |
| Sir Walter James | Liberal 1 | 1 July 1902 |
| Henry Daglish | Labor | 10 August 1904 |
| Cornthwaite Rason | Liberal | 25 August 1905 |
| Newton Moore | Liberal | 7 May 1906 |
| Frank Wilson | Liberal | 16 September 1910 |
| John Scaddan | Labor | 7 October 1911 |
| Frank Wilson | Liberal | 27 July 1916 |
| Henry Lefroy | Nationalist | 28 June 1917 |
| Hal Colebatch | Nationalist | 17 April 1919 |
| James Mitchell | Nationalist | 17 May 1919 |
| Philip Collier | Labor | 16 April 1924 |
| Sir James Mitchell | Nationalist | 24 April 1930 |
| Philip Collier | Labor | 24 April 1933 |
| John Willcock | Labor | 20 August 1936 |
| Frank Wise | Labor | 31 July 1945 |
| Ross McLarty | Liberal | 1 April 1947 |
| Albert Hawke | Labor | 23 February 1953 |
| Sir David Brand | Liberal | 2 April 1959 |
| John Tonkin | Labor | 3 April 1971 |
| Sir Charles Court | Liberal | 8 April 1974 |
| Raymond O'Connor | Liberal | 25 January 1982 |
| Brian Burke | Labor | 19 February 1983 |
| Peter Dowding | Labor | 25 February 1988 |
| Dr Carmen Lawrence | Labor | 12 February 1990 |
| Richard Court | Liberal | 16 February 1993 |
| Dr Geoffrey Gallop | Labor | 16 February 2001 |