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Julia Gillard

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The Honourable
Julia Gillard

MP
Prime Minister of Australia
Designate
Assuming office
June 2010
DeputyWayne Swan
SucceedingKevin Rudd
Leader of the Labor Party
Assuming office
24 June 2010
DeputyWayne Swan
SucceedingKevin Rudd
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 December 2007
Prime MinisterKevin Rudd
Preceded byMark Vaile
Succeeded byWayne Swan (Designate)
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Lalor
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 October 1998
Preceded byBarry Jones
Personal details
Born (1961-09-29) 29 September 1961 (age 63)
Barry, United Kingdom
Political partyLabor Party
ResidenceAltona[1]
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
University of Adelaide

Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is a Welsh-born Australian politician who is currently the Prime Minister designate of the Commonwealth of Australia. Gillard is due to be sworn in as Australia's 27th Prime Minister on 24 June 2010 after a leadership ballot confirmed she had the support of the Australian Labor Party to accsend to the party leadership and hence the Australian Prime Ministership. Gillard before her election to leader of her party was the Deputy Leader and the 13th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia. Gillard is the first woman in Australian history to become the Prime Minister, the highest ranking elected office in the country.

On 11 December 2007[2] she became the first woman in Australia's history to assume the prime ministerial role, when she acted as prime minister while Kevin Rudd attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali.[3] She is also the Minister for Education, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and the Minister for Social Inclusion.[4]

Gillard was elected unopposed as Leader of the Australian Labor Party at a special caucus meeting on 24 June 2010, making her the first female leader of the Australian Labor Party.

Gillard has been an ALP member of the House of Representatives since the 1998 federal election. She represents the Division of Lalor in Victoria.

Early life

Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales in 1961.[5] Her father was a coal miner in Wales, and she has a sister, Alison, who is three years older;[6] Nye Bevan remains one of her political hero's.[7]

After suffering from Bronchopneumonia as a child, her parents were advised it would aid her recovery in a warmer climate.[6] Resultantly, in 1966 the family migrated to Australia, settling in Adelaide.[8]

Her father trained as a psychiatric nurse, while her mother worked at the local Salvation Army Old People's Home.[6] Gillard and her sister attended Mitcham Demonstration School, and then graduated from Unley High School in 1978.[9] She then attended the University of Adelaide, and on graduation moved to Melbourne to work with the AUS.[6] In 1986 she graduated from the University of Melbourne with arts and law degrees.

In 1987 she joined left-leaning law firm Slater & Gordon at Werribee, working in the area of industrial law.[10] In 1990 at the age of 29, she was admitted as one of their first female partners.[7]

Political provenance

Introduced to politics in her second year at the University of Adelaide by the daughter of a state Labor official, she joined the Labour Club and became involved in a campaign to fight state education budget cuts.[6]

Moving to Melbourne, in 1983, Gillard became the second woman to lead the Australian Union of Students.[11] Gillard was also formerly the secretary of the left-wing organisation, Socialist Forum.[12]

From 1996 to 1998, Gillard served as Chief-of-Staff to Victorian Opposition Leader, John Brumby.[5] She was responsible for drafting the affirmative action rules within the Labor Party in Victoria, setting the target of women being preselected in 35 percent of winnable seats within a decade. She also played a role in the foundation of EMILY's List, the fund-raising and support network for Labor women.

Opposition Member

Gillard was elected as Member for Lalor in the House of Representatives at the 1998 election. She made her first speech to the house on 11 November 1998.[13]

Shadow Minister for Population and Immigration (2001–03)

After Labor's defeat at the 2001 election, Gillard was elected to the Shadow Cabinet with the portfolio of Population and Immigration. In February 2003 she was given the additional portfolios of Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs.

In the wake of the Tampa and Children Overboard affairs, which were partly credited with Labor's 2001 election loss, Gillard developed a new immigration policy for the Labor Party.

Shadow Minister for Health (2003–06)

Gillard was promoted to the position of Shadow Health Minister in July 2003. Shortly after this the government moved the then Workplace Relations Minister, Tony Abbott, into the health portfolio. The rivalry between Abbott and Gillard often attracted attention from the media. Additionally, she gained responsibility for managing opposition business in the House of Representatives.

In the aftermath of the Labor loss at the October 2004 election, it was speculated that Gillard might challenge Jenny Macklin for the deputy leadership, but she did not do so.

Gillard has been touted as a potential future leader of the party for some years but, until 2005, she stayed out of leadership contests. After Mark Latham resigned as leader in January 2005, however, she emerged as a possible successor along with Kim Beazley and Kevin Rudd.

After appearing on the ABC's Australian Story program in March 2006,[14][15] an Ipsos Mackay poll in April 2006, conducted for the Ten Network's Meet the Press program, found that respondents would prefer Gillard to be Labor leader. She polled 32% compared to Beazley's 25% and Kevin Rudd's 18%.[16]

Although she had significant cross-factional support, she announced on 25 January 2005 that she would not be contesting the leadership, allowing Beazley to be elected unopposed.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition

Julia Gillard at her first press conference as Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party, 4 December 2006, with new Leader Kevin Rudd

On 1 December 2006, in a cross factional political partnership with Kevin Rudd, Gillard launched a challenge for the deputy leadership of the ALP. Once Rudd was elected as leader, the incumbent deputy leader and Kim Beazley's deputy, Jenny Macklin, did not contest the contest and on 4 December 2006 she was elected unopposed. In the frontbench reshuffle following the leadership change, Gillard was elected to take the Employment and Workplace Relations portfolio.

Deputy Prime Minister of Australia

The Labor Party won the 2007 federal election and, on 3 December 2007, Gillard was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.

In addition to the deputy prime ministership, Gillard was given responsibility for a so-called "super ministry", the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. She has three distinct portfolios: Minister for Education; Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations; and Minister for Social Inclusion. In her role as Minister for Education, Gillard travelled to Washington, D.C. where she signed a deal with the United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, to nurture improved policy collaboration in education reform between both countries.[17]

On 11 December 2007[2] she became the first woman in Australia's history to be in the prime ministerial role, by assuming the role of acting prime minister while Kevin Rudd attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali. In the first year of government, she served as acting prime minister for 69 days[18] during Rudd's overseas travel engagements.

Gillard is a highly regarded debater and her performances during parliamentary question time have prompted Peter van Onselen to call her "the best parliamentary performer on the Labor side".[19]

Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Gillard removed the WorkChoices industrial relations regime introduced by the Howard government, and replaced it with the Fair Work Bill[20]. This established a single industrial relations bureaucracy called Fair Work Australia.[21]

In 2009 Gillard oversaw the government's "Building the Education Revolution" program, which allocated AU$16 billion to build new assembly halls for schools.[22][23][24]

Personal life

Gillard's partner is Tim Mathieson, a hairdresser. She does not have any children.[25] Gillard is notable both at home and in overseas nations such as the United States for her broad Australian accent.[26][27][28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Forget Canberra, Altona has become the new heart of the nation". 2 January 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Radio Australia – News – Julia Gillard becomes Australia's first female acting PM". Radioaustralia.net.au. 17 July 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  3. ^ "Gillard becomes acting leader". 11 December 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2007.
  4. ^ "Australian Labor Party: A Ministry to Meet Australia's Future Challenges". Alp.org.au. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Ms Julia Gillard MP, Member for Labor (Vic)". Australian House of Representatives. Retrieved 18 May 2007.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Australia Story - Julia Gillard Interview Transcript". abc.net.au. 6 March 2006. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  7. ^ a b Mark Davis (24 June 2010). "Focus and ambition drive Gillard's success". farmonline.com.au. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  8. ^ "Julia Gillard in Person". Counterpoint. 20 September 2004. Radio National. yes. {{cite episode}}: External link in |transcripturl= (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |transcripturl= ignored (|transcript-url= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Gillard addresses students at former high school". Abc.net.au. 14 December 2006. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  10. ^ "The Other Biography: Jacueline Kent's "The Making of Julia Gillard" by Christine Wallace". The Monthly. Schwartz Publishing. October 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
  11. ^ EXCLUSIVE: Andrea Mayes (10 August 2007). "Julie Bishop and Julia Gillard clash | Perth Now". News.com.au. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  12. ^ Julia Gillard's history as a radical student activist | NEWS.com.au[dead link‍]
  13. ^ "Ms Julia Gillard MP, Member for Labor (Vic), First Speech To Parliament". Australian House of Representatives. 11 November 1998. Retrieved 18 May 2007.
  14. ^ "Julia Gillard Interview Transcript". Australian Story. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 March 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2007.
  15. ^ "The Gillard Diaries". Australian Story. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 March 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
  16. ^ "Julia Gillard preferred ALP leader: poll". The Age. 2 April 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2007.
  17. ^ "Ms Gillard Goes to Washington". The Age. Fairfax. 19 October 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
  18. ^ Brad Norington (24 November 2008). "Business as usual for Gillard the caretaker". Theaustralian.news.com.au. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  19. ^ OPINION: Peter van Onselen (14 March 2009). "Shorten pathway to a Gillard future". Theaustralian.news.com.au. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  20. ^ Viellaris, Renee (20 March 2009). "WorkChoices finally dead: Julia Gillard". News.com.au. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  21. ^ "PM promises not to extend Work Choices". The Age. Fairfax. 15 October 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
  22. ^ Natasha Bita (10 September 2009). "Grant to trail girl to next school". The Australian. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  23. ^ Natasha Bita (22 October 2009). "Julia Gillard to reclaim school payouts". The Australian. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  24. ^ Paige Taylor and Justine Ferrari (20 June 2009). "$250,000 hall for remote Yulga Jinna Remote Community School 'a waste'". The Australian. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  25. ^ "Gillard defends childlessness". The Australian. 17 January 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  26. ^ "Is Gillard speaking English, ask US kids - Local News - Geelong, VIC, Australia". Geelongadvertiser.com.au. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  27. ^ "Julia Gillards broad Aussie accent confused school children in the US". Herald Sun. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  28. ^ June 06, 2008 12:00AM (6 June 2008). "Noice compliment, says Julia Gilliard about accent". Herald Sun. Retrieved 23 June 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Julia Gillard.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Lalor
1998–present 		Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Deputy Leader of the Labor Party
2006–2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of the Labor Party
2010–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
2007–2010 		Succeeded by
Wayne Swan
Designate
Preceded by Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
2007–2010 		Succeeded by
TBD
Preceded by Minister for Education
2007–2010
Preceded by Prime Minister of Australia
2010–present 		Incumbent
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