Barnaby Joyce

His father, a World War II veteran, was born in New Zealand and moved to Australia in 1947.

Joyce's paternal grandfather John P. Joyce was a career soldier who participated in the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I, including the landing at Anzac Cove.

Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who served as the leader of the National Party of Australia from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2021 to 2022.

Joyce attended Woolbrook Public School, boarded at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview in Sydney, and graduated from the University of New England (UNE) Armidale with a Bachelor of Financial Administration in 1989.

Joyce met Natalie Abberfield at UNE.

From 1991 to 2005, Joyce worked in the accounting profession, and founded his own accountancy firm Barnaby Joyce & Co. in St George, Queensland in 1999.

He is a fellow of CPA Australia.

They married in 1993.

After graduating, Joyce moved around northern New South Wales and Queensland as a farm worker, nightclub bouncer, and banker.

From 1996 to 2001, Joyce served in the Royal Queensland Regiment of the Australian Army Reserve.

In 1999, he set up an accountancy practice in St George, Queensland.

Joyce was elected to the Australian Senate at the 2004 federal election, taking office in 2005.

In the 2004 Australian federal election, Joyce was elected to the Senate representing Queensland and the National Party.

His term ran from 1 July 2005 until 30 June 2011.

Before taking his seat in July 2005, Joyce said that the government should not take his support for granted.

As a senator, he crossed the floor nineteen times during the term of the Howard government.

Joyce initially expressed misgivings about the government's proposed sale of Telstra, the partially state-owned telecommunications company; nevertheless, Joyce voted in favour of the sale a few months later in September 2005.

This led the Labor Party to label Joyce "Backdown Barney" and "Barnaby Rubble" in an acrimonious parliamentary debate.

As the Telstra Sale Legislation had been pursued by the lower house in prior parliamentary sessions with no assistance package for regional Australia, Joyce was later credited with holding out until the multibillion-dollar assistance package was negotiated and delivered.

Joyce opposed the free provision of the Gardasil vaccine.

In May 2006, after a one-month visit to Antarctica as a member of the External Territories Committee, Joyce promoted mining there, banned under the Antarctic Treaty, and stated that other nations did not recognise Australia's 42 per cent claim over Antarctica.

The proposal was roundly condemned by Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell, Labor Opposition spokesman Anthony Albanese and others.

As a Senator, Joyce used the threat of crossing the floor to extract concessions from his own government on various issues, most notably in relation to the sale of Telstra.

He became the National Party's Senate leader in 2008.

He was re-elected at the 2010 election as a member of the Liberal National Party, which was formed by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the two non-Labor parties.

At the 2013 election, he transferred to the House of Representatives, winning the rural seat of New England in New South Wales.

During 2013, Joyce replaced Nigel Scullion as deputy leader of the National Party.

In the Abbott and Turnbull governments, Joyce served as Minister for Agriculture (2013–2015), Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources (2015–2017), Minister for Resources and Northern Australia (2017) and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport (2017–2018).

Joyce served as the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia during both his leadership tenures under Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull from 2016 to 2018 and Prime Minister Scott Morrison from 2021 to 2022.

Joyce was born in Tamworth, New South Wales, and is a graduate of the University of New England.

He succeeded Warren Truss as party leader and deputy prime minister in 2016.

During the 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis, Joyce was confirmed to be a dual citizen of New Zealand, which is forbidden under Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia.

On 27 October 2017, the High Court of Australia ruled that he had been ineligible to be a candidate for the House of Representatives at the time of the 2016 election.

Joyce re-entered parliament in December 2017 after winning the New England by-election with a large swing against low-profile opposition.

In February 2018, he resigned his ministerial and leadership roles after acknowledging that he was in a relationship and expecting a child with a former staffer.

He was succeeded by Michael McCormack, but remained in the party as a backbencher.

In June 2021, Joyce defeated McCormack in a leadership spill to return as deputy prime minister.

Following the Liberal–National coalition's loss at the 2022 federal election, Joyce was replaced by David Littleproud as leader of the National Party, after a leadership challenge and is now the Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs.

Joyce was born in Tamworth, New South Wales, and raised as one of six children on a sheep and cattle property about 60 kilometres north-east at Danglemah near Woolbrook.

Joyce is the son of Marie (Roche) and James Joyce, who were farmers.