Andrew Peacock practised law after graduating from the University of Melbourne, but soon made his way into federal politics. When Prime Minister Robert Menzies retired in 1966, Peacock won the seat of Kooyong (which Menzies had taken over from John Latham).
An MP while still in his twenties, Peacock rose rapidly in the Liberal Party. He became a minister in 1969. When Malcolm Fraser became Prime Minister in 1975, Peacock became Minister for Foreign Affairs. His working relationship with Fraser deteriorated, and Peacock challenged unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Liberal Party (and the prime ministership) in 1981.
The Fraser government was defeated in the 1983 election, and Peacock became leader of the opposition. He and John Howard vied for the party leadership: Howard defeated him for the leadership in 1985, but Peacock won the position back in 1990. Again unsuccessful at the 1990 federal election, Peacock relinquished the leadership for the last time.
Peacock left parliament in 1994, and in 1997 the Howard government chose him as Australia's ambassador to the United States. After returning from this position in 2000, he took up several senior business appointments, serving as president of Boeing Australia from 2002 to 2007. He became chairman of funds manager MFS Limited in 2007.
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