Paul Fletcher

Early life Fletcher was born in Devizes, Wiltshire, England, the son of Clive and Mary Fletcher. His father was a professor of computational engineering.

Fletcher grew up in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, where he was the dux of Sydney Grammar School in 1982. He subsequently attended the University of Sydney, graduating with first-class honours in economics and laws. At university he co-wrote two plays, titled The Fax of Life and Annually Fixated. where he completed a Master of Business Administration degree.

Fletcher was one of seven Liberal MPs in the 46th Parliament of Australia who obtained degrees at an Oxbridge or Ivy League university, the others being Alan Tudge, Angus Taylor, Andrew Laming, Dave Sharma, Greg Hunt and Josh Frydenberg.

Professional career In his early career, Fletcher worked as a management consultant, a corporate lawyer for Mallesons Stephen Jaques, and a corporate strategist for TNT Limited. From 1996 to 2000, he worked as chief of staff to Minister for Communications Richard Alston, a Liberal Party politician. Fletcher joined Optus in 2000 and worked as director of corporate and regulatory affairs until 2008. He was a staunch opponent of Telstra, accusing the latter company of being a monopoly. He also wrote a book entitled Wired Brown Land? Telstra's Battle for Broadband that was published in 2009, discussing Telstra's bid to operate the Australian Government's proposed National Broadband Network.

Political career Fletcher joined the Young Liberals at the age of 16. Fletcher had previously unsuccessfully sought Liberal Party pre-selection in the Division of Cook in 2007.

Under the Abbott government, Fletcher was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications. In September 2015 Fletcher was appointed as the Minister for Major Projects, Territories, and Local Government in the Turnbull government. Fletcher served as the Minister for Urban Infrastructure from July 2016 until he was promoted to Cabinet in 2018.

Fletcher is a member of the Moderate/Modern Liberal faction of the Liberal Party.

In June 2022 he was appointed Manager of Opposition Business in the House. He also serves as Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy, as well as Shadow Minister for Science and the Arts.

On 10 December 2024, Fletcher announced that he would not seek re-election at the 2025 Australian federal election.

Personal life Fletcher is married to jeweller Manuela Zappacosta and they have one son, and they live with her son from a previous marriage.