Kevin Rudd

About Kevin Rudd

Kevin Michael Rudd, a former Australian politician and Prime Minister was born on 21st September 1957 at Nambour, Queensland. He became Prime Minister of Australia twice; first in 2007 and then in 2013. His first tenure as the 26th Prime Minister lasted till June 2010 but the next time he could be in power for just 11 weeks. He was the first Prime Minister to appoint a woman deputy, Julia Gillard.

Early life and Education

He had a bad attack of rheumatic fever in the early childhood that led to severe heart problems. His family ended up in financial crisis after the death of his father, Albert. In 1972 at the age of 15, he joined the Australian Labor Party. He did his schooling at Eumundi Primary School, Marist Brothers College Ashgrove and Nambour State High School. Rudd graduated in Asian studies from Australian National University. His post graduation was in Chinese language and Chinese history. His thesis on Chinese democracy activist Wei Jingsheng was supervised by an eminent Belgian-Australian sinologist Pierre Ryckmans.

Political Career

Rudd served as a diplomat in the Department of Foreign Affairs till 1988. Later he joined as Chief of Staff to Wayne Goss, the Opposition Leader in Queensland. When Goss was elected Premier in 1989, he chose Rudd to be the Director-General of the Office of Cabinet. While in the position Rudd proved himself to be Queensland's most powerful bureaucrat. He initiated a number of reforms. After the fall of the Gross government KPMG Australia, an accounting firm hired him as a Senior China Consultant. He was the Labor candidate for the seat of Griffith at the 1996 federal election. He lost it due to the unpopularity of Labor in Queensland. He won the same seat in the 1998 election. Very soon he became the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. In December 2006 he became leader of the Labor party and the leader of the opposition, challenging Kim Beazley. Labor won a landslide victory in 2007 election and Rudd was sworn in as the Prime Minister on 3rd December.

Personal Life

Rudd married Thérèse Rein on 17th November 1981, with whom he had three children Jessica, Nicholas and Marcus.

26th Prime Minister of Australia
In office:	27 June 2013 – 18 September 2013
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Quentin Bryce
Deputy	Anthony Albanese
Preceded by	Julia Gillard
Succeeded by	Tony Abbott
In office:	3 December 2007�– 24 June 2010
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Michael Jeffery, Quentin Bryce
Deputy	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	John Howard
Succeeded by	Julia Gillard
Leader of the Labor Party
In office:	26 June 2013�– 13 September 2013
Deputy	Anthony Albanese
Preceded by	Julia Gillard
Succeeded by	Bill Shorten
In office:	4 December 2006�– 24 June 2010
Deputy	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Kim Bveazley
Succeeded by	Julia Gillard
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office	14 September 2010�– 22 February 2012
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Stephen Smith
Succeeded by	Bob Carr
Leader of the Opposition
In office:	4 December 2006�– 3 December 2007
Deputy	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Kim Beazley
Succeeded by	Brendan Nelson
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office:	11 November 2001�– 4 December 2006
Leader	Simon Crean, Mark Latham, Kim Beazley
Preceded by	Jenny Macklin
Succeeded by	Stephen Smith
Member of the Australian Parliament for Griffith
In office:	3 October 1998�– 22 November 2013
Preceded by	Graeme McDougall
Succeeded by	Terri Butler
9th Chairperson-in-office of the Commonwealth of Nations
In office:	27 June 2013�– 18 September 2013
Head	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Julia Gillard
Succeeded by	Tony Abbott
Personal details
Born	21 September 1957 (age 56), Nambour, Queensland, Australia
Political party	Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Th�r�se Rein
Children	3
Residence	Norman Park, Queensland, Australia
Alma mater	Australian National University
Religion	Anglicanism