Malcolm Turnbull has been voted in as the new Prime Minister of Australia after centre-right Liberal Party in a hastily arranged party leadership ballot ousted Tony Abbott on Monday.
Turnbull, along time Abbot rival won a secret party room vote by 54 to 44, Liberal Party whip Scott Buchholz told reporters after the meeting in Canberra, Reuters reported.
Turnball, will take over the office after Abbott writes to Australia's governor general and offers his resignation. BBC reported that Turnbull, a multi-millionaire former banker and tech entrepreneur, will be the fourth Prime Minister of Australia since 2013.
The liberal party hastily arranged for a leadership ballot after Turnbull stated that the party would lose next general elections if Abbott remained the leader. The Abbott government in recent days has been plagued by poor opinion polls.
Malcolm Turnbull - Short Bio
Turnbull served as Minister for Communications under Abbott, before resigning to launch a leadership challenge. The 60-year new Australian Prime Minister is a strong climate change action advocate and openly supports gay marriage.
He was the leader of the Liberal Party in opposition from 2008 to 2009 but lost a leadership challenge to Abbott by one vote.
