It was initially appointed as a transitional ministry on 16 May 2011 following the resignation of Jon Stanhope as Chief Minister and the subsequent election of Katy Gallagher as his replacement by the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly.
[1] Gallagher had stated that, once the 2011-12 ACT Budget was passed by the assembly, she would appoint her deputy Andrew Barr to the Treasury portfolio in her place.
[3] The new ministry was the first step in aligning ministerial appointments with the new structure of the ACT public service as recommended by the Hawke Review and adopted by the government.
This was increased back to five ministers following the appointment of Chris Bourke to the ministry on 23 November 2011.
[1] On 1 July 2011, Deputy Chief Minister Andrew Barr was appointed as Treasurer, as announced by Gallagher in May 2011.