Xenophon attended Prince Alfred College, and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Adelaide. From 1976 until 1981, he was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia and the Young Liberals. In his first year, Xenophon was elected on the Adelaide University Liberal Club ticket to "On Dit" student magazine. At the end of his eighteen-month term, Xenophon wrote as a whistleblower in "On Dit" that the Young Liberals had rigged the vote in order to secure the unlikely victory of their editing team.