- The Australian Labor Party swept into power, winning more than the needed 76 seats in the House of Representatives of the Australian Parliament in the federal elections of November 24, 2007. This insured that ALP Leader Kevin Rudd became Prime Minister of Australia, succeeding John Howard.
- Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his Cabinet were sworn into office on December 3, 2007, by Australian Governor-General Michael Jeffery.
- On June 24, an Australian Labor Party caucus meeting declared the positions of Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister vacant. Rudd was replaced by Julia Gillard, his erstwhile deputy.
From working in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs during most of the 1980s, including postings to the Australian Embassies in Stockholm and Beijing, Queenslander Kevin Rudd switched to the rough-and-tumble world of politics, becoming Australian Labor Party Federal Member for the Queensland electorate of Griffith in 1998.
With Australia under a Coalition Government, Rudd was appointed to Federal Labor's Shadow Cabinet in 2001 as Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman.
On December 4, 2006, Federal Labor Caucus elected him Federal Labor Leader and Leader of the Opposition.
As Federal Opposition Leader, he was pitted against incumbent Prime Minister John Howard in the Federal election called for November 24, 2007.
Kevin Rudd is married to Therese Rein, a business entrepreneur. They live in Brisbane with their three children: Jessica, Nicholas and Marcus.
Kevin Rudd
- Date of Birth: September 21, 1957
- Place of Birth: Nambour, Queensland
- Education: Nambour High School; Australian National University, majoring in Chinese language and Chinese history
- Political Party: Australian Labor Party
- Home: Norman Park, Queensland
