Terry Mills (Australian politician)

Terry Mills
Mills in 2005
9th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
In office
29 August 2012 – 13 March 2013
DeputyRobyn Lambley (2012–2013)
Willem Westra van Holthe (2013)
AdministratorSally Thomas
Preceded byPaul Henderson
Succeeded byAdam Giles
8th Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Territory
In office
29 January 2008 – 29 August 2012
Preceded byJodeen Carney
Succeeded byDelia Lawrie
In office
15 November 2003 – 4 February 2005
Preceded byDenis Burke
Succeeded byDenis Burke
Member of the Northern Territory Parliament
for Blain
In office
31 July 1999 – 20 February 2014
Preceded byBarry Coulter
Succeeded byNathan Barrett
In office
27 August 2016 – 22 August 2020
Preceded byNathan Barrett
Succeeded byMark Turner
Personal details
Born
Terence Kennedy Mills

(1957-12-22) 22 December 1957 (age 66)
Geraldton, Western Australia
Political partyTerritory Alliance (2019–present)
Other political
affiliations
Country Liberal (1999–2016)
Independent (2016–2019)
SpouseRos Serich
Alma materWestern Australian College of Advanced Education
CabinetMills Ministry

Terence Kennedy Mills (born 22 December 1957) is an Australian politician. He served as chief minister of the Northern Territory from 2012 to 2013 and was leader of the Country Liberal Party (CLP) from 2003 to 2005 and 2008 to 2012.

Mills, who had been the principal of a Christian school, was first elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1999, representing the seat of Blain. He was CLP leader and leader of the opposition from 2003 to 2005, but was replaced before contesting an election. He returned to the leadership in 2008, gaining seven seats at the 2008 election and then forming a majority government after the 2012 election. He spent less than a year as chief minister before being replaced by Adam Giles following a leadership spill.

Mills resigned from the Legislative Assembly in 2014, but successfully recontested his former seat at the 2016 election as an independent. In 2019 he announced the formation of a new party, the Territory Alliance. He was joined by two other incumbent MLAs in early 2020, allowing the Alliance to surpass the CLP as the second-largest party in the Legislative Assembly, but lost his seat at the 2020 election.