The Letts Executive was the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

of Majority Leader of the Northern Territory Goff Letts, who led the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

from the implementation of the

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also known as the Parliament of the Northern Territory) is the unicameral legislature of Australia’s Northern Territory. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member ...

in 1974 until his defeat in his own seat at the 1977 election. It was the first ministry to come from the Legislative Assembly. He was the only head of government of the Northern Territory not to assume the title of

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of the Northern Territory. The office is the equivalent of a state premier. When the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was created in 1974, the head of government w ...

, as self-government was not granted until 1978. His governments did not have anywhere near the range of powers available to Territory governments after the granting of self-government, but nevertheless fulfilled similar functions. Letts' successor as Majority Leader and his one-time deputy,

Paul Everingham Paul Anthony Edward Everingham (born 4 February 1943) is a former Australian politician who was the head of government of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1977 to 1984, serving as the second and last Majority Leader (1977–1978) and t ...

, became the first Chief Minister in 1978. Jim Robertson, MLA, while not technically a member of the executive, served as Manager of Government Business throughout this period.

First Executive

The first executive lasted from November 1974 to August 1975, when Deputy Majority Leader

resigned from the executive to focus on his legal practice, and was succeeded as deputy by then-

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

Bernie Kilgariff Bernard Francis Kilgariff AM (30 September 1923 – 13 April 2010) was an Australian politician. He was one of the founders of the Country Liberal Party and served as a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly which included a stin ...

Second Executive

The second executive served from August to November 1975. It was short-lived, as

, who had replaced

in the executive in August, resigned from the Assembly in November to run for the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

Third Executive

The third executive served from December 1975 to December 1976. Deputy Majority Leader

had resigned in November 1976, requiring a reshuffle of the remaining executive members. In this third executive,

Grant Tambling Grant Ernest John Tambling, (20 June 1943 – 24 January 2025) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1980 to 1983 and then a Senator for the Northern Territory from 1987 to 2001, representing the Co ...

became Deputy Majority Leader and

Marshall Perron Marshall Bruce Perron (born 5 February 1942) is a former Australian politician, who was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 1988 to 1995.

, a future Chief Minister, was brought into the executive, with several changes also made to the portfolios of other members.

Fourth Executive

The fourth executive lasted from December 1976 to September 1977. It came into existence not because of personnel changes, but as a result of a reshuffle to prepare for the 1977 election. Letts made a short-lived change with this executive, styling its members as "cabinet members" instead of "executive members", which was abandoned when

succeeded Letts as Majority Leader after the election. This executive was devastated at the 1977 election; five executive members ( Goff Letts,

Liz Andrew Elizabeth Jean Andrew (later Andrew-Oates; 28 February 1948 – 12 April 1993) was an Australian politician. She was a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1974 to 1977, representing the suburban Dar ...

Dave Pollock David Lloyd Pollock (born 17 November 1942) is a former Australian politician. He was the Country Liberal Party member for MacDonnell in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also ...

and Roger Ryan) were among the six Country Liberal Party members to lose their seats. Former Deputy Majority Leader

disbanded his legal practice and returned from the backbenches to replace Letts as Majority Leader, later becoming the first

, while both surviving members of the last Letts executive,

Ian Tuxworth Ian Lindsay Tuxworth (18 June 1942 – 21 January 2020) was an Australian politician, who was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory of Australia from 17 October 1984 until his resignation on 10 May 1986. Early life Tuxworth was born on 18 J ...

and

Marshall Perron Marshall Bruce Perron (born 5 February 1942) is a former Australian politician, who was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 1988 to 1995.

, would also later go on to serve as Chief Minister.

References

{{Northern Territory ministries Northern Territory ministries