Peta Credlin

Peta-Louise Mary Credlin (born 23 March 1971) is an Australian political adviser who served as chief of staff to former Prime Minister Tony Abbott from September 2013 to September 2015, and previously as chief of staff to Abbott as Leader of the Opposition.
Credlin achieved prominence when the Coalition, of which Abbott was the parliamentary leader, formed government after the Australian federal election, 2013.

Peta Credlin was born to Len and Brenda Credlin in the small Victorian country town of Wycheproof. Her family moved closer to Geelong, and she attended Sacred Heart College, where she was a member of the debating team and elected Deputy School Captain in her second year. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne with a concentration in constitutional law, politics and history in 1998. At university, Credlin resided at Newman College, won a number of prizes and awards, and was a member and national finalist of the 1995 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition Team. After graduation, she was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor in Victoria, and applied for a job as a political staffer with Liberal Senator Kay Patterson in 1999.

She obtained a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice with Distinction from the Australian National University (ANU) in 2010, where she won the ACT Law Society Prize for the top student of 2009. She is currently completing a Master of Laws degree at the ANU.

After working for several years on Patterson's staff, Credlin moved to become an adviser to Senator Richard Alston, the Minister for Communications in the Howard Government. She then left politics, and worked for three years as public relations manager for Racing Victoria. Tired of the commute between Melbourne and Canberra, where her husband Brian Loughnane was based, Credlin returned to her career as a political staffer, working for senators Robert Hill and Helen Coonan.

When the Howard Government was defeated at the 2007 federal election, Credlin moved to Sydney to work at the Jockey Club until she was asked by Brendan Nelson, who had been elected federal Liberal leader and Leader of the Opposition, to join his staff. When Malcolm Turnbull challenged Nelson for the party leadership, Nelson counselled her to join Turnbull's team and she was appointed his chief of staff, although she was demoted to deputy during this tenure. When Turnbull himself was challenged and defeated by Tony Abbott in December 2009, Credlin joined Abbott's staff. She continued in that role until the Liberal Party leadership ballot of 14 September 2015, in which Abbott was defeated and replaced as leader by Malcolm Turnbull.

Credlin became a Sky News Australia contributor in May 2016, with her first appearance on 7 May 2016 during a special weekend edition of PM Agenda. Credlin will co-host a weekly primetime program Credlin & Keneally from 16 November 2016.

Credlin has been married to Brian Loughnane, former federal director of the Liberal Party of Australia, since December 2002. They had worked together in the Victorian office of the Liberal Party during the campaign for 2001 federal election. In 2013, Credlin pleaded guilty to a drink driving offence but did not have a conviction recorded against her. Credlin is Roman Catholic. Credlin has undergone IVF treatment for three years.