Mathias Cormann

Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann (; ; born 20 September 1970) is a Belgian-born Australian politician and diplomat who has been the Secretary-General of the OECD since 2021.

Cormann was Australian Minister for Finance from 2013 to 2020 and a Senator from Western Australia for the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2020. His tenure of more than seven years as Minister for Finance was the longest in Australian history, spanning the Abbott, Turnbull, and Morrison governments. On 20 December 2017, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promoted Cormann to be Leader of the Government in the Senate. As leader of the government in the Senate, Cormann was also the Vice-President of the Executive Council.

Cormann retired from politics in October 2020 in order to be nominated by Prime Minister Scott Morrison as Australia's candidate for Secretary-General of the OECD.

Early life Cormann was born on 20 September 1970 in Eupen, Belgium, within the country's German-speaking Community. Cormann grew up in the village of Raeren, around from the Belgian-German border. At the time of his birth, his father worked as a turner at a factory in Germany. When he was ten years old, his father spent six months in hospital with a severe illness that left him unable to work; he subsequently became an alcoholic but recovered. The family relied on a disability pension and assistance from the local Catholic church, where Cormann served as an altar boy.

After beginning his education locally, Cormann completed his secondary schooling in Liège, where he learnt French as a second language. He learned English as a fourth language in 1993 while on an Erasmus Programme exchange to the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. In 1995, he was associated with Joëlle Milquet's campaign for the presidency of the French-speaking Christian Social Party (PSC).

During his time studying in England, Cormann began a relationship with an Australian woman. He first came to Australia in June 1994 to visit her family in Perth. Their relationship did not continue, but after returning to Belgium to complete his studies he decided to move to Australia permanently. Cormann then cold-called Senator Chris Ellison, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on treaties, and asked to work in his office as a volunteer. After two weeks he secured a paid position as a staffer.

When Senator Ian Campbell unexpectedly announced his planned resignation on 4 May 2007, Cormann was quickly preselected by the party to fill the resulting casual vacancy. and the Scrutiny of New Taxes Committee (2010–2011).

Government (2013–2020)

When the Coalition won government in 2013, Cormann became the Finance Minister, a role which he held under Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison. Although he publicly supported Abbott in the 2015 leadership spill, Cormann was promoted by Turnbull to take on the additional roles of Special Minister of State in 2016, and Leader of the Government in the Senate in 2017.

As government leader in the upper house, Cormann became third in line to serve as acting prime minister when necessary. He fulfilled this role for several days in February 2018, during a unique set of circumstances in which Prime Minister Turnbull made a state visit to the United States, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce took personal leave amid scandal surrounding an affair with a staffer, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party Julie Bishop made official visits to Europe in her role as Foreign Minister.

Cormann played a key role during the Liberal Party leadership spills in August 2018. He voted for Turnbull against Peter Dutton in the first spill on 21 August, and the following day publicly pledged his support for him to remain as prime minister, stating "I will continue to serve him loyally into the future" at a press conference alongside Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison. However, on 23 August Cormann issued a joint statement with Mitch Fifield and Michaelia Cash withdrawing their support, stating that "we went to see the PM yesterday afternoon to advise him that in our judgement, he no longer enjoyed the majority of support of Liberal members". They also announced that they had offered their resignations from cabinet. In the second spill on 24 August, he supported Peter Dutton against Scott Morrison and Julie Bishop.

During the leadership conflict, Cormann offered his resignation as Minister for Finance and Leader of the Government in the Senate, but resumed both roles in the first Morrison Ministry. Cormann meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in Paris in June 2021 In July 2020, Cormann announced that he would step down from politics by the end of the year, but would remain as minister to finalise the government's July budget update, the 2020–21 federal budget in October and the half-yearly budget update in December. In early October 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Cormann would be nominated as a candidate for the next Secretary-General of the OECD. On 30 October 2020, he stepped down from his roles as Finance Minister and Leader of the Government in the Senate, which were taken over by Trade Minister Simon Birmingham.

On 2 November 2020, Cormann was officially nominated as a candidate for the next Secretary-General of the OECD. He formally resigned from the Senate a week later on 6 November 2020, with his resignation triggering a casual vacancy in the Senate.

Secretary-General of OECD On 12 March 2021, Cormann was elected as the next Secretary-General of the OECD, and he assumed office on 1 June 2021. On 28 February 2023, Cormann visited Ukraine and met with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During their meeting, they discussed Ukraine's possible accession to the OECD.

Political views Cormann is a free market economic and fiscal conservative. As a Senator, in Opposition and in Government, he has been a consistent advocate for lower taxes, smaller government, open markets and free trade. Within the Liberal Party he is associated with the economic dries.

While Cormann personally opposed same-sex marriage and in 2017 argued "for a postal vote plebiscite to be held before a parliamentary vote on the issue", after that survey went ahead and found most Australians support same-sex marriage, Cormann chose to vote in favour of the bill legalising same-sex marriage.

Cormann is a constitutional monarchist. While in parliament, he was a member of the National Right.

Personal life Cormann, a Roman Catholic, has two daughters with his wife Hayley. His wife, a barrister, was appointed as a judge of the District Court of Western Australia in 2024 and previously served as president of the Law Society of Western Australia.

Cormann became an Australian citizen on Australia Day in 2000, which resulted in the automatic loss of his Belgian citizenship as per Belgian nationality law at the time. This was re-confirmed prior to nominating for preselection as a candidate for the Senate.

Cormann obtained a private pilot's licence in 2001.

Honours

In January 2018, Cormann was awarded with the rank of Grand Cross with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by Ambassador Anna Prinz on behalf of the Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier for his work "in advancing German-Australian relations".

In November 2025, Mathias Cormann was awarded the State Decoration of the Order of the White Double Cross, First Class (Civil Division), by the President of the Slovak Republic, Peter Pellegrini, in recognition of his commitment to dialogue, cooperation, and the promotion of a better world.

He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in the 2026 Australia Day Honours “for eminent service to the people and Parliament of Australia, to the implementation of government reform, to multilateral affairs, and to international economic development”.

In March 2026 he was awarded the Order of Merit (Ukraine) by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on behalf of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his principled leadership and consistent support for Ukraine’s structural reform effort and resilience.

Criticisms and controversies During his candidacy for the position of Secretary General of the OECD, Cormann has been criticised over his record on climate change, specifically for trying to abolish Australia's renewable energy target, along with the country's Clean Energy Finance Corporation and its Renewable Energy Agency. In March 2021, 29 Australian and global humanitarian and environmental organisations wrote to the OECD, citing "grave concerns" and asking that Cormann be disqualified due to his record of "thwarting effective climate action". Among critics of his candidacy were also trade union leaders in Australia and the UK, with the UK Trade Union Council stating that Cormann's nomination as Secretary General of the OECD would set back the fight against poverty and the climate crisis.

In August 2021, it was revealed that Cormann was a member of the Clan, a WhatsApp group which was used to branchstack in Western Australia.

In January 2024, independent Australian news website The Klaxon reported that Cormann shortly after leaving parliament in late 2020 was issued equity in Sayers Group, a consultancy firm funded by Luke Sayers, former CEO of scandal-ridden firm PwC Australia. Sayers Group subsequently benefitted from a string of federal government contracts, adding up to a total of more than between November 2020 and December 2023. When Cormann was Australia's Minister of Finance from 2013 to 2020, federal government payments to PwC Australia for "management advisory services" increased more than 17-fold – from to .