Christopher Pyne burst into federal politics in a bruising bout and has barely dropped his boxing gloves since.

The irrepressible defence minister and member for Sturt fancies himself a "fixer" capable of pulling political rabbits from hats.

I thank the people of Sturt for allowing me to serve them in Federal Parliament since 1993. My 26 year political career also could not have been possible without the SA Liberal Party and my wonderful family to whom I owe so much. Full statement ➡️ https://t.co/2F7lPqXVXB #auspol pic.twitter.com/j7XdMgwdik — Christopher Pyne (@cpyne) March 1, 2019

Beneath his broad smile and bone-dry wit is a ruthless survivor, factional boss and master of the arcane arts of parliamentary procedure.

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As a 25-year-old in a hurry, Pyne brawled his way through an ugly preselection battle to contest his South Australian seat.

He has remained in the position for the past 26 years through a formidable mix of ruthlessness, cunning and charm.

Pyne freely admits he made mistakes along the way.

As a bullish junior MP, Pyne once deemed it wise to tell John Howard he'd done his dash, and would not have his support in a leadership tilt.

Howard went on to become Australia's second-longest serving prime minister, and Pyne was banished to the backbench for almost a decade.

'The Fixer'

In more recent years, Pyne has styled himself into a self-declared "fixer" who found a mystery $150 million to push trouble-prone higher education changes through the Senate.

He playfully refused to reveal where he got the money, insisting "I want to make it a surprise".

Pyne clearly views politics as equal parts sport and war, and the 51-year-old loves to win.

This unabashed appetite for basking in the "winner's circle" and enjoying the spoils of victory has landed him in hot water.

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Pyne gloated to a group of Liberals in 2017 that the moderates voted for Malcolm Turnbull in every ballot he'd ever contested.

The trouble was, of course, that Pyne was a member of ousted prime minister Tony Abbott's leadership team.

The boast sparked accusations of disloyalty and betrayal, exposing bitter divisions within the Liberals.

But Pyne didn't take a backward step when the leaked tapes were revealed, arguing he and his allies carried Abbott to an electoral win.

For Pyne, it was ever thus.

He has long waged internal battles far more ferocious than his public jousting with Labor opponents.

A long-running beef with former Liberal Party arch-conservative Cory Bernardi is arguably his most acrimonious feud.

The moderate warrior delights in wrangling pre-selection numbers, securing seats, fighting policy battles on the partyroom floor and winning votes in parliament.

He was devastated when Turnbull, who he adored and revered, was slain as Liberal leader in August last year.

"Malcolm is Aslan to me," Pyne said at the time, referring to the Christ-like lion king from The Chronicles of Narnia.

Pyne was the only remaining member of the Liberal leadership group of a decade ago. Everyone else has fallen.

He has denied harbouring any leadership ambitions of his own, declaring himself "too liberal and too South Australian" to lead the party.

He has spoken proudly of sticking to his ideological guns throughout his decades-long life in the public service, and lamented modern politicians becoming too risk-averse to make tough decisions.

For a man who has spent more than half his life in federal parliament, walking away will be difficult.

But Pyne has often described being away from his wife and four children as the hardest part of his job, so more time spent with them will no doubt soften the blow.