CANBERRA – Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has announced he will retire from politics in February, ending a prolonged period of speculation over his future following an election defeat in 2022.

In a Facebook post on Jan 23, the 55-year-old said he would be resigning from Parliament by the end of February to “take on new challenges in the global corporate sector and spend more time with my family”.

Mr Morrison thanked his family, friends and voters for giving him the opportunity to “serve my country at the highest level and make Australia a stronger, more secure and more prosperous country”.

First elected to the New South Wales seat of Cook in 2007, Mr Morrison rose quickly through the ranks of the centre-right Liberal Party.

He was initially known for implementing the government’s hardline crackdown on asylum seekers arriving by boat, then went on to become treasurer in 2015 and prime minister in 2018.

A devout Christian, Mr Morrison told a jubilant crowd that he had “always believed in miracles” when he unexpectedly won the 2019 election.

However, Mr Morrison’s time in power will be mainly remembered for the Covid-19 pandemic, during which he oversaw strict border controls to limit all travel in and out of Australia and deployed a massive fiscal stimulus.

His tough response was initially very popular. However, as restrictions were gradually lifted, the government was increasingly perceived as bungling important initiatives such as vaccinations, resulting in his approval rating falling sharply.

After losing the 2022 election to Labor’s Anthony Albanese, it was revealed that Mr Morrison had secretly sworn himself into several ministerial portfolios during the pandemic, sparking fury from members of his own party.

Some lawmakers called for Mr Morrison to resign, but the former prime minister stayed on as the member for Cook for more than 18 months after his election defeat – a historically unusual step for a former Australian leader whose party has lost office. BLOOMBERG