Anglican Primate of Australia
# Anglican Primate of Australia

The Anglican Primate of Australia is the senior bishop and President of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia. Between General Synods, the Primate is also President of the Standing Committee of the General Synod which takes responsibility for the affairs of the General Synod in between General Synod sessions. The Primate is elected from among the country's Anglican diocesan bishops, by a Board of Electors, comprising diocesan bishops and representative clergy and laity.

## List

Ex officio primates :

| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1847 | 1849 | William Broughton, Bishop of Australia | Only Primate of Australasia. |
| 1849 | 1854 | William Broughton, Bishop of Sydney | Only Primate of Australasia. |
| 1854 | 1882 | Frederic Barker, Bishop of Sydney | First Primate of Australia ex officio as Bishop of Sydney. |
| 1884 | 1889 | Alfred Barry, Bishop of Sydney | Ex officio primate as Bishop of Sydney. |
| 1890 | 1897 | Saumarez Smith, Bishop of Sydney | Ex officio primate as Bishop/Archbishop of Sydney; died in office. |
| 1897 | 1909 | Saumarez Smith, Archbishop of Sydney | Ex officio primate as Bishop/Archbishop of Sydney; died in office. |
| Elected primates ||||
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1910 | 1933 | John Wright, Archbishop of Sydney | Also Archbishop of Sydney since 1909; died in office. |
| 1935 | 1946 | Henry Le Fanu, Archbishop of Perth | Also Archbishop of Perth since 1929; died in office. |
| 1947 | 1958 | Howard Mowll, Archbishop of Sydney | Also Archbishop of Sydney since 1933; died in office. |
| 1959 | 1966 | Hugh Gough, Archbishop of Sydney | Also Archbishop of Sydney since 1959. |
| 1966 | 1971 | Sir Philip Strong, Archbishop of Brisbane | Also Archbishop of Brisbane since 1962. |
| 1971 | 1977 | Sir Frank Woods, Archbishop of Melbourne | Also Archbishop of Melbourne since 1957; knighted in 1972. |
| 1977 | 1982 | Sir Marcus Loane, Archbishop of Sydney | Also Archbishop of Sydney since 1964; knighted in 1976. |
| 1982 | 1989 | Sir John Grindrod, Archbishop of Brisbane | Also Archbishop of Brisbane since 1980; knighted in 1982. |
| 1991 | 1999 | Keith Rayner, Archbishop of Melbourne | Acting Primate 1989–1991. Also Archbishop of Melbourne since 1990. |
| 1999 | 2004 | Peter Carnley, Archbishop of Perth | Also Archbishop of Perth since 1981. |
| 2004 | 4 July 2014 | Phillip Aspinall, Archbishop of Brisbane | Also Archbishop of Brisbane since 2002 |
| 4 July 2014 | 31 March 2020 | Philip Freier, Archbishop of Melbourne | Also Archbishop of Melbourne since 2006. In the brief April 2020 vacancy, Aspinall served as interim Primate. |
| 7 April 2020 | onwards | Geoffrey Smith, Archbishop of Adelaide | Also Archbishop of Adelaide since 2017. |
