Global InformationKevin Rudd information
His Excellency The Honourable Kevin Rudd AC | |
|---|---|
 Rudd in 2023 | |
| 23rd Ambassador of Australia to the United States | |
Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 20 March 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Anthony Albanese |
| Preceded by | Arthur Sinodinos |
| 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 |
| Governors General |
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| 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 Beazley |
| Succeeded by | Julia Gillard |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 4 December 2006 – 3 December 2007 | |
| Deputy | Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Kim Beazley |
| Succeeded by | Brendan Nelson |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 14 September 2010 – 22 February 2012 | |
| Prime Minister | Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Stephen Smith |
| Succeeded by | Bob Carr |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Griffith | |
| In office 3 October 1998 – 22 November 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Graeme McDougall |
| Succeeded by | Terri Butler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kevin Michael Rudd 21 September 1957 Nambour, Queensland, Australia |
| Political party | Labor |
| Spouse |
Thérèse Rein (m. 1981) |
| Children | 3 |
| Profession |
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| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
| Nickname | Kevin 07[1] |
| Academic background | |
| Education |
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| Alma mater |
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| Thesis | China’s New Marxist Nationalism: Defining Xi Jinping’s Ideological Worldview (2022) |
| Doctoral advisor |
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Prime Minister of Australia First term of government (2007–2010)
Second term of government (2013)
Ministries
Elections
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Kevin Michael Rudd AC (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June 2013 to September 2013. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Rudd has been the 23rd and current ambassador of Australia to the United States since 2023.[2]
Born in Nambour, Queensland, Rudd graduated from the Australian National University with honours in Chinese studies, and is fluent in Mandarin. Before entering politics, he worked as a diplomat and public servant for the Goss Ministry. Rudd was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the 1998 federal election, as a member of parliament (MP) for the division of Griffith. He was promoted to the shadow cabinet in 2001 as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. In December 2006, he defeated Kim Beazley in a leadership spill to become the leader of the Labor Party, thus becoming Leader of the Opposition. Rudd led Labor to a landslide victory at the 2007 election, defeating the Howard government. The Rudd government's earliest acts included action on climate change through ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and delivering the first national apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples for the Stolen Generations. The Government also provided economic stimulus packages in response to the financial crisis of 2007–2008, resulting in Australia becoming one of the only developed countries to avoid the late-2000s recession. Other signature policies included establishing the National Broadband Network (NBN), launching the Digital Education Revolution and the Building the Education Revolution, dismantling WorkChoices, and withdrawing Australian troops from the Iraq War.
In 2010, Rudd began to face instability within his party, after the Australian Senate rejected his government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. This prompted deputy prime minister Julia Gillard to challenge him for the leadership of the Labor Party in June of that year. Rather than contest the leadership, Rudd chose to resign, meaning that Gillard replaced him as prime minister. His removal from office began a sequence of four subsequent prime ministers who would all be removed by their own parties before completing their full first term.[3] Rudd remained in the party as a backbencher, and chose to re-contest his seat at the 2010 election, which resulted in a Gillard-led minority government. Within the Gillard government, Rudd was brought back into the Cabinet by Gillard as Minister for Foreign Affairs. He remained in that role until resigning in February 2012, citing Gillard's failure to discipline colleagues who had publicly criticised him. In response, Gillard called a leadership spill, which Rudd lost. Tensions over the leadership nevertheless continued; after a spill in March 2013, which Rudd did not contest, a further ballot was held in June 2013, which Rudd won by 57 votes to 45, becoming prime minister once again. His second term as prime minister lasted less than three months, as Labor was defeated at the 2013 election.
Rudd retired from parliament following the election, but has stayed active in politics. In February 2014, he was named Senior Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he leads research on the future of China–United States relations. He was also appointed as a distinguished fellow-in-residence at the Paulson Institute within the University of Chicago in September of that year. Additionally, he is chair of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism, chair of Sanitation and Water for All, and chairman of the board at the International Peace Institute. In January 2021, he was assigned as the eighth president and CEO of the Asia Society. Notably, Rudd has campaigned against media mogul Rupert Murdoch's dominance in Australian political debate, and called for a royal commission into media diversity in the country. He was appointed as Australia's Ambassador to the U.S. by the Albanese government in March 2023.
Rudd maintained long periods of popularity in opinion polls during his initial tenure as prime minister for successfully helping Australia through the global financial crisis and for his well renowned apology to the Indigenous community,[4][5] but he saw a rapid decrease in popularity both in public polling and within his own party after his failure to deliver key pieces of legislation.[6] He was praised for his management of the global financial crisis,[7][8] willingness to apologise to Indigenous Australians,[9] and diplomatic skills,[10][11] but was widely criticised for his failure to negotiate a carbon pricing scheme and a tax on non-renewable resources.[12][13] He is often ranked in the middle-to-lower tier of Australian prime ministers.[14][15][16]
- ^ Gordon, Michael (30 August 2013). "Whatever happened to the famous Kevin 07 mojo?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ "Former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd appointed ambassador to the US". the Guardian. 20 December 2022. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ Mansillo, Luke (20 September 2018). "Australia has had 7 prime ministers in just 11 years. Blame its quirky election laws". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
- ^ "Kevin Rudd's polling since 2006". Australian Financial Review. 24 June 2010. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ Coorey, Philip (30 March 2009). "The Rudd supremacy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
- ^ Soutphommasane, Tim (24 June 2010). "Why Labor ditched Kevin Rudd". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ Bongiorno, Frank (18 November 2013). "How will history judge Kevin Rudd". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
- ^ Marr, David (27 June 2013). "Kevin Rudd: a man for the party but not a party man". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
- ^ Mao, Frances (13 February 2018). "Australia's apology to Stolen Generations: 'It gave me peace'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
- ^ Marr, David (7 June 2010). "We need to talk about Kevin ... Rudd, that is". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
- ^ Beeson, Mark (15 November 2013). "Rudd's foreign policy legacy". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 28 November 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ "Kevin Rudd's successes and failures". Australian Financial Review. 24 June 2010. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ Knott, Matthew (14 November 2013). "The Rudd years: highs and lows". Crikey. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- ^ Mackerras, Malcolm (25 June 2010). "Ranking Australia's prime ministers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ Strangio, Paul (2013). "Evaluating Prime-Ministerial Performance: The Australian Experience". In Strangio, Paul; 't Hart, Paul; Walter, James (eds.). Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance: Comparative Perspectives. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199666423.
- ^ Strangio, Paul (February 2022). "Prime-ministerial leadership rankings: the Australian experience". Australian Journal of Political Science. 57 (2): 180–198. doi:10.1080/10361146.2022.2040426. S2CID 247112944. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2023.