Deputy Premier of Victoria

Deputy Premier of Victoria
Incumbent James Merlino
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Governor of Victoria
Term length	At the Governor's pleasure
Formation	Constitution of Victoria
First holder	Sir Albert Dunstan

The Deputy Premier of Victoria is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Victoria. The Deputy Premiership has been a ministerial portfolio since, and the Deputy Premier is appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Premier.

The current Deputy Premier is James Merlino of the Australian Labor Party.

The duties of the Deputy Premier are to act on behalf of the Premier in his or her absence overseas or on leave. The Deputy Premier has always been a member of the Cabinet, and has always held at least one substantive portfolio (It would be technically possible for a minister to hold only the portfolio of Deputy Premier, but this has never happened).

If the Premier were to die, become incapacitated or resign, the Governor would normally appoint the Deputy Premier as Premier. If the governing or majority party had not yet elected a new leader, that appointment would be on an interim basis. Should a different leader emerge, that person would then be appointed Premier.

Please note that this list may be incomplete due to lack of information

As of January 2016, there are five living former Deputy Premiers. The most recent Deputy Premier to die was Joan Kirner on 1 June 2015.

Among the most notable former Deputy Premiers of Victoria have been Sir Robert Menzies (1932–1934) who become the longest serving Prime Minister of Australia. Others include Sir Albert Dunstan (1932) who later became Premier for a then record of eleven years, Sir Rupert Hamer (1971–1972) who later became a long serving Premier and Thomas Hollway (1943–1945) who was Premier on three different occasions.

Sir Albert Dunstan
Deputy Premier:
1932-1932

Sir Robert Menzies
Deputy Premier:
1932–1934

Sir Wilfrid Hughes
Deputy Premier:
1935, 1948–1949

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