Peter Malinauskas On The Verge Of Becoming South Australia’s New Premier

A 41-year-old father of three who flaunts his ripped physique on social media is widely expected to be elected Premier of South Australia in Saturday’s election.

Peter Malinauskas, who was the state’s health minister in 2017, is expected to depose Liberal Premier Steven Marshall after only one term.

According to analysts, Mr Marshall lost popular support when he allowed Covid to spread by opening South Australia’s borders in November, despite the state going months without a single local case.

Meanwhile, Mr Malinauskas has raised his profile through an effective social media campaign that features photos of him with his wife Annabel and their three children, Sophie, Jack, and Eliza.

Mr Malinauskas, a Labor Party member who describes himself as “socially conservative,” was born in Adelaide in 1980.

During WWII, his paternal grandparents immigrated from Lithuania and Hungary, while his mother’s family is of Irish descent. He began working as a Woolworths trolley boy when he was 15 years old and continued to work shifts while studying commerce at Adelaide University.

Before becoming a politician in 2015 and Labor leader in 2018, he was a union boss.

Mr Malinauskas has made health a priority in his campaign, citing mounting complaints about ambulance ramps outside hospitals.