Mark McGowan AC (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian former politician and naval officer who served as the 30th premier of Western Australia from 2017 until his retirement in 2023.

He attended the University of Queensland and worked as a legal officer for the Royal Australian Navy, serving at naval base HMAS Stirling, south of Perth.

McGowan subsequently grew in popularity, and went on to lead Labor to a landslide victory at the 2017 election, winning the largest majority government in the state's history at the time.

[2] Throughout 2020, McGowan led Western Australia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time he reached a record-breaking approval rating for an Australian premier of 91%.

This was the largest victory in terms of both vote share and proportion of lower house seats occupied in Australian electoral history.

[5] In 1994, after settling with his family in Western Australia, McGowan was elected to the City of Rockingham Council, and in 1995 was appointed Deputy Mayor.

He was subsequently pre-selected to run for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly in the seat of Rockingham at the 1996 election, following the retirement of long-serving MP Mike Barnett.

[8] Following Labor's win at the 2005 election, Gallop reshuffled his Ministry, and promoted McGowan to the role of Minister for Tourism, Racing and Gaming.

During his time in the Ministry, McGowan introduced major liquor reforms, including the introduction of small bars, created the Department of Environment and Conservation, and provided approval for the Gorgon gas project.

In this portfolio, McGowan oversaw the replacement of outcomes-based education with syllabus documents, re-established traditional forms of marking and reporting, and launched a renewed effort towards the attraction and retention of teachers.

[18] The issue returned to the media spotlight when it was revealed that McGowan had had some dealings over fundraising with the controversial politician Brian Burke during the 2005 election.

By 2015, McGowan had reached a comfortable lead in polls as preferred Premier of Western Australia, and retained this position until the following election.

[32][33] McGowan also introduced unlimited fines and life imprisonment for people deemed to be trafficking methamphetamine,[34] and worked to expand Chinese investment in Western Australia.

[47] In July 2020, businessman Clive Palmer claimed that the closing of the borders was unconstitutional and launched a legal challenge in the Federal Court.

[48][49] Shortly afterwards, McGowan's popularity in opinion polls dramatically increased, reaching 91% approval in September 2020, a record for any Australian premier.

[53] On 13 March 2021, WA Labor won the most comprehensive victory, in terms of vote share and percentage of seats controlled, at any level in Australia since Federation.

The two other ministers viewed as possible candidates, Roger Cook and Rita Saffioti, had existing important roles that McGowan wanted them to continue with.

The panel was led by former Governor of Western Australia Malcolm McCusker, and consisted of four electoral and constitutional law experts.

McGowan and Electoral Affairs Minister John Quigley said the election of Wilson Tucker with 98 primary votes was a key reason for their change of mind.

[58][59] On 13 December 2021, McGowan announced that Western Australia would fully open its borders to COVID-19 vaccinated people from interstate and overseas on 5 February 2022.

[62] A February opinion poll showed that his approval rating had decreased to 64%, the lowest during the pandemic, but still comparatively high to premiers in other states.