A graduate of Sunnybank State High School, he went on to study at the University of Queensland, receiving an honours degree in dental science.

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the previous member, former National Party Premier Rob Borbidge who had just led the Coalition to a landslide defeat in the general election earlier in 2001.

Due to voter anger at being forced to the polls for the second time in three months, the National vote tumbled to eight percent.

This left Langbroek far short of the support he needed to overtake Gold Coast councillor and former mayor Lex Bell, who won the seat as an independent.

Langbroek stood again in Surfers Paradise at the 2004 state election and won convincingly with Bell being pushed into third place.

[4] Langbroek's election marked the first time in 84 years that the non-Labor side in Queensland had been led by someone aligned federally with the Liberals or their predecessors.

However, after Labor's numbers rebounded in the wake of the Queensland floods, Langbroek came under growing pressure from the LNP's organisational wing to stand down.

[6] In 2010, Langbroek as LNP leader opposed the labor government push for state Constitutional recognition of Aboriginal Australians.

[11] After the LNP landslide in the 2012 election, Langbroek was made Minister for Education, Training and Employment in the Newman Ministry.