Julia Eileen Gillard born 29 September 1961 is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.
Gillard was elected at the 1998 federal election to the House of Representatives seat of Lalor, Victoria for the Australian Labor Party. Following the 2001 federal election, Gillard was elected to the shadow cabinet with the portfolios of Population and Immigration. The Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs and the Health portfolios were added in 2003. In December 2006, Kevin Rudd was elected Labor leader and Leader of the Opposition, with Gillard as deputy leader.[3]
Gillard became the Deputy Prime Minister upon Labor's victory in the 2007 federal election, also serving as Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. On 24 June 2010, after Rudd lost the support of his party and stood aside, Gillard became federal leader of the Australian Labor Party and thus the Prime Minister,[4] the first female holder of the office.
The 2010 federal election saw the incumbent Gillard Labor government elected to a second term over the Coalition opposition, led by Tony Abbott, and formed a minority government with support of an Australian Greens MP and three independent MPs
Early life
Gillard was born in 1961 in Barry, Wales.[3] After she suffered from bronchopneumonia as a child, her parents were advised it would aid her recovery if they were to live in a warmer climate.[7] The family migrated to Australia in 1966, settling in Adelaide.[8] Her parents, John and Moira, live in Pasadena, South Australia.[9] She has a sister, Alison, who is three years older.[7]
Gillard's father worked as a psychiatric nurse, while her mother worked at the local Salvation Army nursing home.[7] She and her sister attended Mitcham Demonstration School, and Julia went on to attend Unley High School.[10] She then studied at the University of Adelaide but cut short her courses in 1982 and moved to Melbourne to work with the Australian Union of Students.[11] She graduated from the University of Melbourne with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees in 1986.[12]
In 1987, Gillard joined the law firm Slater & Gordon at Werribee, Melbourne, working in industrial law.[13] In 1990, at the age of 29, she was admitted as a partner.[14]
Political provenance
Introduced to politics in her second year at the University of Adelaide by the daughter of a State Labor Minister, Gillard joined the Labor Club and became involved in a campaign to fight federal education budget cuts.[7][8]
After moving to Melbourne, in 1983 Gillard became the second woman to lead the Australian Union of Students. She was also formerly the secretary of the left-wing organisation, Socialist Forum.[15]
From 1996 to 1998, Gillard served as Chief of Staff to John Brumby, at that time the Victorian opposition leader.[3] She was responsible for drafting the affirmative-action rules within the Labor Party in Victoria that set the target of preselecting women for 35 per cent of "winnable seats".[8][16] She also played a role in the foundation of EMILY's List, the pro-choice fund-raising and support network for Labor women.[17]
The Welsh Labour politician Aneurin "Nye" Bevan remains one of her political heroes.
Julia Gillard Bikini Pictures
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