An Historic Day

I try to keep this blog a-political but I will make an exception for this event.

Yesterday, for the first time in our country's history, a woman became the Prime Minister of Australia.

Julia Gillard took over from the incumbent Kevin Rudd who stood aside (for reasons we won't go into here).

I have 'lifted' her bio from the Australian Labor Party's web site.

Julia was born in Wales, migrating to Australia with her family in 1966. She studied arts and law at university in Adelaide before being elected as national education vice president of the Australian Union of Students in 1983. In 1983, Julia was national president of the AUS.
She began work as a solicitor with the law firm Slater and Gordon and became a partner in 1990. In May 1996, Julia was appointed chief of staff of the then Victorian Opposition leader, John Brumby. She worked with Mr Brumby until her election to Federal Parliament in 1998.
Following her election, she was a member of a number of parliamentary committees including the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Workplace Relations prior to entering Labor's Shadow Ministry in 2001.

She subsequently served in a number of Shadow Ministerial portfolios including Population and Immigration, Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs, Health, Employment and Industrial Relations, and Social Inclusion.
Julia was Labor's Manager of Opposition Business for three years prior to being elected as Labor's Deputy Leader in December 2006.
Following the Federal Election on the 24th of November 2007, Julia was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, and Minister for Social Inclusion.

She became Prime Minister on 24th June 2010.

A federal election must take place sometime between now and 16th April, 2011.

Whether Ms Gillard will hold her position after that is of course up to the voters.

Interesting times in Australian politics.