This paper examines the theory of political leadership developed by the Australian academic and writer on psychoanalysis and politics, Graham Little — a theory that both provides a general framework for understanding political leadership and posits three types that can be used to develop interpretations of contemporary and historical leaders. Building upon the typologies developed by Wilfred Bion, Little worked from both a deep knowledge of psychoanalytic theory and practice and from empirical work to write his interpretations of individual leaders, such as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, and two recent Australian prime ministers, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.