Josh Frydenberg is only six months into his role as treasurer of Australia following yet another nasty leadership struggle that saw Scott Morrison take over the prime ministership in August last year.
But he's made enough of an impression to come in at No. 4 this year in the FinanceAsia finance minister league table. It may not last though if gets voted out later this year.
Frydenberg is a conservative and popular among the Liberal Party’s powerful right-wing factions. He’s also got an atypical backstory: as a school-leaver, he tried his luck as a semi-professional tennis player and then studied law and economics at Monash University in Melbourne, before joining Mallesons Stephen Jacques and Deutsche Bank, becoming a policy advisor to former prime minister John Howard and running for parliament in 2010.
Frydenberg is smart and articulate but he is still finding his feet. “It takes time for people to grow into the role and learn how to formulate and communicate economic policy to the people,” said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital. “There has been so much instability in government it is difficult for our politicians to explain themselves and build trust.”
