Former Liberal leader Peter Dutton says he’s honoured that Labor has appointed him to the board of one of the country’s top institutions.

Dutton quit politics after he lost his federal seat of Dickson, which he held for 24 years, to Labor’s Ali France in the 2025 election.

The election drubbing was one of the worst that Coalition had endured.

On Monday, Veteran Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said he would recommend Dutton for a seat on the Australian War Memorial Council for a three-year period beginning November 14.

He will replace Glenn Keys, who has helped steer the War Memorial through a turbulent six years of infrastructure development and its relationship with disgraced veteran Ben Roberts-Smith, who has been charged with war crimes.

“In his post-parliamentary life, he (Dutton), remains passionate about strengthening Australia’s values, institutions and national interests,” Keogh said.

In a rare return to social media, Dutton said he was honoured to be appointed.

“My proudest moment in public life was during my time as defence minister dealing with our country’s finest,” he wrote in a thread on X.

“It’s important to me that we take care of our serving personnel and veterans, and that we honour and respect our military history and pass on the lessons to every subsequent generation.”

Dutton was Defence Minister under Scott Morrison and in 2021, he overruled a recommendation by then-chief of the defence force, General Angus Campbell, to strip the meritorious unit citation from about 3000 special forces soldiers who served in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013.

It came after the release of the Brereton report into war crimes in the country.

The War Memorial has opened expansions through a staggered process in the past year. Full completion, including new galleries and floor spaces, is expected in 2028.

The Albanese government has made a habit of appointing previous Liberal powerbrokers to roles in areas it oversees.

It began with Matt Kean, a former NSW Treasurer who chairs the Climate Change Authority. More recently, another former federal opposition leader – Sussan Ley – was appointed to the Snowy Hydro board following her resignation from politics in February.

-AAP