Canberra, Australia: Australian challenger Malcolm Turnbull ousted Prime Minister Tony Abbott in a party leadership battle on Monday, to become the country's next leader just two years after the increasingly unpopular conservative government came to power.

Chief government whip Scott Buchholz said Turnbull, 60, a multi-millionaire former banker, had beaten long-time rival Abbott 54-44 in a sudden ballot among the Liberal Party which heads the ruling coalition.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop won the contest for deputy leadership of the Liberal Party 70-30, defeating Defence Minister Kevin Andrews.