Lynton Crosby

Sir Lynton Keith Crosby AO (born 23 August 1956)^[1][2] is an Australian political strategist who has managed election campaigns for right-of-centre parties in several countries.^[3]

Crosby has been described as a "master of the dark political arts", "the Wizard of Oz", and "the Australian Karl Rove". In 2002, he was called "one of the most powerful and influential figures in the nation" by The Age.^[2][4]

After graduating from the University of Adelaide, Crosby first became involved in politics with the Liberal Party of Australia, eventually being appointed federal director of the party in 1997. He oversaw the party's successful campaigns at the 1996, 1998, 2001, and 2004 federal elections, which made the Howard government Australia's second-longest serving federal government. In 2002, Crosby left his formal position in the party to establish a consulting firm, the Crosby Textor Group.

Crosby first ventured into overseas politics at the 2005 United Kingdom general election, where he managed the Conservative Party's unsuccessful campaign. He has since also run Conservative campaigns for the 2008 and 2012 London mayoral elections, as well as the 2015 general election, all of which resulted in victories for the party. His campaign was not successful for the 2016 London mayoral election (which was won by the Labour candidate, Sadiq Khan)^[5] and the 2017 general election in which the Conservatives remained the largest party but lost 13 seats and their parliamentary majority.^[6]

Outside of Australia and the UK, Crosby has also served as an advisor for parties in Canada,^{[citation needed]} New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. At the 2009 European Parliament elections, Crosby acted as a consultant for Libertas, a pan-European party opposed to the Treaty of Lisbon.