First Female Prime Minister of Australia

Biography

Name: Julia Eileen Gillard

Born: 29 September 1961, Barry, Wales

Education: BA, LLB (Melbourne)

Employment: Solicitor (1987–95); Partner (1990–95); Chief of Staff to the Victorian Leader of the Opposition, J Brumby, MLA (1996–98)

Who is she?

Born in Barry, Wales in 1961, she is the daughter of a nurse and aged care worker. Julia Gillard’s family migrated to Australia in 1966 and she grew up in Adelaide. She became an Australian citizen in 1974 along with the rest of her family, and renounced her British citizenship before entering Parliament.

Gillard was educated at Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School in South Australia, before studying Arts and Law degrees at the University of Adelaide. In 1983 she moved to Melbourne to complete her degree at Melbourne University. Later that year, she was elected President of the Australian Union of Students.

After graduating, Gillard began work as a solicitor in Melbourne with the law firm Slater and Gordon and became a partner in 1990. Her work at the firm focused on employment law.

She worked on securing fairer treatment for workers and fought for clothing trades outworkers who had been underpaid.

Julia Gillard first contested the federal seat of Lalor for the Australian Labor Party in 1998 and was elected that year.

Political Profile:

Terms as MP:

House of Representatives for Lalor, Victoria, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2007

Portfolios:

Deputy Prime Minister: 3 December 2007 – 24 June 2010

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations: 3 December 2007 – 28 June 2010

Minister for Education: 3 December 2007 – 28 June 2010

Minister for Social Inclusion: 3 December 2007 – 28 June 2010

Julia Gillard was sworn in as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia on 24 June 2010

Traits:

Julia Gillard is usually calm, polite, and rarely seen irritated. Even in the face of daunting interviews or in direct face-off with her political opponents, she remains composed.

In a interview for Daily Life on 30^th November 2012, Julia Gillard explains her tough, steely personality.

“I think some parts of it are innate and some parts of it have been strengthened. I have always been a very, even as a child, I have always been a very calm person. I am not someone who gets upset easily. I am not someone who screams and yells and carries on and throws tantrums. I am a very even tempered person. That’s who I am.

I have always had a very strong sense of myself and not had that easily pushed and pulled by the views of others. And I suspect that being able to get a sense of remove on it. It’s bit like a muscle, the more you work it the stronger it gets.”

Tough Personality: Confronting the pressures of being Australia’s first female PM

In a leadership challenge, Julia Gillard became Australia’s 27th Prime Minister and the first woman to hold the office. She was elected unopposed by the Parliamentary Labor Party.

As with many female leaders such as Hilary Clinton, Christine Lagarde, she has to endure constant disapproval of issues such as her dress, her hair, as well as having her choice of religion and marital status, frowned upon.

In Parliament, her political opponents constantly bring down and undermine her status and position as Prime Minister.

Besides facing opposition from Tony Abbott, Julia Gillard also has to withstand internal Labor Party politics from her predecessor and successor, Kevin Rudd.

Speaking out for Female Equality

Julia Gillard spoke out for women against misogyny in Parliament, and that speech resonated strongly with women all around the world. The injustice, the prejudice, as well as the anger and frustration which women face. Within a day, this speech went viral, and significantly increased female support towards Gillard.

Leadership Style:

Her achievements during her tenure as Prime Minister are a testament to her leadership in Parliament, supported by the qualities and traits that she possesses. It can also be seen, that Gillard makes use of a democratic leadership style and tries to seek a consensus within all interested parties.

Democratic Leadership

Julia Gillard has been known to be a good negotiator since her days in a law firm, as well as a consensus politician in her party. As part of the minority government, Gillard has to handle her own party, other parties whilst maintaining the interests of the country. She has handled all of this, whilst defending her position as a Prime Minister in a minority government. Gillard constantly involves all factions of parliament, a sharp contrast to her predecessor and now, successor, Kevin Rudd.

Even as she prepares for her departure from Parliament, she says to her party, “We want to make sure the people here who are going to be just a big part of Labor’s future get re-elected, and you stay there as a staffer, that you do the things you need to do for the campaign and beyond.”

List of Achievements

As a testament to her leadership, stated below is a list of achievements that were reached under Julia Gillard’s leadership.

– Despite facing aftermath of financial crisis in 2008, Julia Gillard has maintained australia’s economy within a low inflation, low unemployment, low government debt as well as high levels of investment. Australia was the only one out of thirty three advanced economies to record positive growth during this period.

– The Australian government took action on climate change and passed into law its high-profile clean energy bill. Introduction of an emissions trading scheme, with inclusions of carbon tax and mining tax, aimed at environmental sustainability while boosting government revenue amid a resources boom.

– A Health Reform Package to provide increased funding to public hospitals and better in-patient and emergency treatment services.

– Australia, under Gillard’s leadership, gained a place as non-permanent member on UN Security Council.

– Education reform which have led to record number of students in universities, apprenticeships

– On tobacco, the Labor Party increased controls over tobacco branding through legislation, in a bid to reduce smoking in the country.

Christine Nixon on Julia Gillard’s Leadership

Christine Nixon, a former police commissioner in Victoria, explains different social processes that motivate people towards leadership. She uses Julia Gillard as an example of a new-age leader, who is being judged by an outdated model. She notes that Gillard faces “an incredibly complex system where she is in a minority government, having to make sure that a whole range of other people are a part of it”.

Towards the Future

Julia Gillard had said ahead of the party vote that whoever lost should resign, and she will now leave politics. With regards to her plans for the future, no one really knows. However, what we do know, is she will continue to bring her brand of leadership to the table, influencing and empowering legions of young women.