Cormann's resignation to pursue top job at OECD
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann will leave Parliament later this month after Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed he would recommend him for the position of Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
His departure will trigger the first major reshuffle of Mr Morrison's tenure, likely before Christmas, promoting Trade Minister Simon Birmingham to the finance portfolio and the Senate leadership.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann is resigning from Parliament.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
Senator Cormann, first elected in 2007, will officially depart the Senate on October 30, the day before nominations for the Paris-based top OECD job close.
Senator Birmingham will continue in his current portfolio as well - at least until the broader reshuffle - while West Australian senator Michaelia Cash will be promoted to deputy, joining the government's leadership team.
Senator Cormann is Australia's longest-serving Finance Minister, having served in the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments since 2013. He is one of only four original cabinet members along with Mr Morrison, Peter Dutton and Greg Hunt.
Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann[1] (/məˈtiːəs ˈkɔːrmən/; German: [maˈtiːas ˈkɔʁman]; born 20 September 1970) is an Australian former politician for the Liberal Party. He served as Minister for Finance from 2013 to 2020, and Senator for Western Australia from 2007 to 2020. His seven year, 42 day tenure as Minister for Finance was the longest in Australian history, spanning the Abbott, Turnbull, and Morrison governments. He additionally served as Minister for the Public Service from 2018 to 2019.[2]
On 20 September 2015 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promoted Cormann to the position of Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate [3] and on 20 December 2017 as Leader of the Government in the Senate.[4] He also served as Special Minister of State from 2015 to 2016, 2017 to 2018 and since 2019.[5][6] Cormann served as the Leader of the Government in the Senate and the Vice-President of the Executive Council.[7]
In July 2020, Cormann announced that he would step down from politics before the end of the year, but would remain as minister to finalise the government's budget update in July, the 2020–21 federal budget in October and the half-yearly budget update in December.[8][9] In October 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Australia would nominate Cormann for Secretary-General of the OECD.[10] He resigned on 6 November 2020.[11]
Mr Morrison said on Thursday morning Senator Cormann, who had announced his intention to retire by the end of the year, was ideally suited for the role.
"Mathias's seven-year experience as our longest serving Finance Minister, Belgium-born, French-German and Flemish to boot, I think ideally equips him for the challenging role of the Secretary-Generation of the (OECD)," he said.
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"The OECD brings together most of the European economies, but it also brings together the economies of North America and the Asia-Pacific as a truly global organisation and a voice from the Asia-Pacific which will increasingly be the centre of the global economy," he said.
Senator Cormann, the most senior West Australian member of the government, said it was a great honour to be nominated for the position.
"The OECD is without any doubt one of the most consequential international economic policy and governance bodies in the world today," Senator Cormann said.
"Through its work over the past six decades, it makes a difference to the lives, the daily lives, of billions of people all around the world."
If successful he would be just the sixth secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the first from the southern hemisphere.
He would replace Angel Gurria of Mexico who has been in charge of the organisation since 2006, covering both the global financial crisis and the current coronavirus pandemic. The new term begins on June 1, 2021.
Mr Morrison briefed Labor leader Anthony Albanese of his intention to nominate his colleague prior to his announcement, with the Opposition expected to lend its support to the bid.
He faces a large field of opponents for the position. He said as a veteran of preselection contests, he was not taking anything for granted.
"I look forward to participating in that great democratic exercise which is Senate estimates for the final two weeks of October. And after that I give you this commitment: I will do everything I can to help secure, successfully secure, the position for which Australia has been kind enough to nominate me here today," he said.
"And then it will be a matter for the decision-makers to make a judgement on who they think is best equipped to lead the OECD moving forward."./-