Before the 1890s, there was no formal political party
system in South Australia.
| Chief Minister / Premier |
Party |
Commenced office |
| Boyle Travers Finniss |
|
24 Oct 1856 |
| John Baker |
|
21 Aug 1857 |
| Robert Richard Torrens |
|
1 Sep 1857 |
| Richard Davies Hanson |
|
30 Sep 1857 |
| Thomas Reynolds |
|
9 May 1860 |
| George Marsden Waterhouse |
|
8 Oct 1861 |
| Francis Stacker Dutton |
|
4 Jul 1863 |
| Henry Ayers |
|
15 Jul 1863 |
| Arthur Blyth |
|
4 Aug 1864 |
| Francis Stacker Dutton |
|
22 Mar 1865 |
| Henry Ayers |
|
20 Sep 1865 |
| John Hart |
|
23 Oct 1865 |
| James Penn Boucaut |
|
28 Mar 1866 |
| Henry Ayers |
|
3 May 1867 |
| John Hart |
|
24 Sep 1868 |
| Henry Ayers |
|
13 Oct 1868 |
| Henry Bull Templar Strangways |
|
3 Nov 1868 |
| John Hart |
|
30 May 1870 |
| Arthur Blyth |
|
10 Nov 1871 |
| Sir Henry Ayers |
|
22 Jan 1872 |
| Arthur Blyth |
|
22 Jul 1873 |
| James Penn Boucaut |
|
3 Jun 1875 |
| John Colton |
|
6 Jun 1876 |
| James Penn Boucaut |
|
26 Oct 1877 |
| William Morgan |
|
27 Sep 1878 |
| Sir John Cox Bray |
|
24 Jun 1881 |
| John Colton |
|
16 Jun 1884 |
| John William Downer |
|
16 Jun 1885 |
| Thomas Playford |
|
11 Jun 1887 |
| Dr John Alexander Cockburn |
|
27 Jun 1889 |
| Thomas Playford |
|
19 Aug 1890 |
| Frederick William Holder |
|
21 Jun 1892 |
| Sir John William Downer |
|
15 Oct 1892 |
| Charles Cameron Kingston |
Liberal |
16 Jun 1893 |
| Vaiben Louis Solomon |
Conservative |
1 Dec 1899 |
| Frederick William Holder |
Liberal |
8 Dec 1899 |
| John Greeley Jenkins |
Liberal |
15 May 1901 |
| Richard Butler |
Conservative |
1 Mar 1905 |
| Thomas Price |
Labor |
26 Jul 1905 |
| Archibald Henry Peake |
Commonwealth Liberal |
5 Jun 1909 |
| John Verran |
Labor |
3 Jun 1910 |
| Archibald Henry Peake |
Commonwealth Liberal |
17 Feb 1912 |
| Crawford Vaughan |
Labor |
3 Apr 1915 |
| Archibald Henry Peake |
Liberal |
14 Jul 1917 |
| Henry Newman Barwell |
Liberal |
8 Apr 1920 |
| John Gunn |
Labor |
16 Apr 1924 |
| Lionel Laughton Hill |
Labor |
28 Aug 1926 |
| Richard Layton Butler |
Liberal |
8 Apr 1927 |
| Lionel Laughton Hill |
Labor |
17 Apr 1930 |
| Robert Stanley Richards |
Labor |
13 Feb 1933 |
| Richard Layton Butler |
Liberal and Country League |
18 Apr 1933 |
| Sir Thomas Playford |
Liberal and Country League |
5 Nov1938 |
| Francis (Frank) Henry Walsh |
Labor |
10 Mar 1965 |
| Donald Allan Dunstan |
Labor |
1 Jun 1967 |
| Raymond Steele Hall |
Liberal and Country League |
17 Apr 1968 |
| Donald Allan Dunstan |
Labor |
2 Jun 1970 |
| James (Des) Desmond Corcoran |
Labor |
15 Feb 1979 |
| Dr David Oliver Tonkin |
Liberal |
18 Sep 1979 |
| John Charles Bannon |
Labor |
10 Nov 1982 |
| Dr Lynn Maurice Ferguson Arnold |
Labor |
4 Sep 1992 |
| Dean Craig Brown |
Liberal |
14 Dec 1993 |
| John Wayne Olsen |
Liberal |
28 Nov 1996 |
| Robert (Rob) Gerard Kerin |
Liberal |
22 Oct 2001 |
| Michael (Mike) David Rann |
Labor |
5 Apr 2002 |
| Jay Wilson Weatherill |
Labor |
21 Oct 2011 |
