Highlights of Tony Abbott's career

TONY ABBOTT:

* Born on November 4, 1957, in London, England

* Attended St Aloysius' College in Milsons Point, before completing school at St Ignatius' College Riverview in Lane Cove

* Completed a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Law at Sydney University

* Gained a Master of Arts at the Queen's College at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar

* Entered the St Patrick's Seminary in Manly, studied to become a Catholic priest but left to work as a journalist for the Bulletin and The Australian

* Became press secretary for then Liberal and opposition leader Dr John Hewson in 1990

* Executive Director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy from 1993 to 1994

* Elected as the member for Warringah at a by-election in March 1994 after the resignation of Michael MacKellar

* Appointed parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs in 1996

* Became Minister for Employment Services in 1998

* Promoted to cabinet as Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business in January 2001

* Took on extra roles of Leader of the House and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service after the 2001 election

* Changed portfolios to Health and Ageing in October 2003

* As health minister in 2006 his anti-abortion stance led to controversy over his refusal to allow the abortion drug RU486 to be made available

* Re-elected in the 2007 general election despite the coalition government losing power

* Nominated for the vacant leader position after John Howard lost his seat but withdrew before the ballot, which was won by Brendan Nelson

* Became shadow minister for families, community services and indigenous affairs in 2007

* In November 2009 Abbott was the first of several shadow cabinet members to resign in protest against Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull's support for the government's ETS

* Announced he would stand for the Liberal Party parliamentary leadership against Turnbull later that month

* Beat Turnbull by one vote in a leadership spill, 42 votes to 41, and became opposition leader

* Coalition defeated Kevin Rudd-led Labor government at September 2013 election

* Abbott appointed prime minister on September 18, 2013

* Sparks controversy by awarding the Queen's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, a knighthood on Australia Day 2015

* Survived leadership spill by 61 votes to 39 in February 2015