Kevin Rudd

Kevin Michael Rudd (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 from June to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the Labor Party. From 2023 to 2026, Rudd was the ambassador of Australia to the United States.

Born on the Sunshine Coast, Rudd graduated from the Australian National University in 1981 with honours in Chinese studies, and is fluent in Mandarin. Before politics, he worked as a diplomat and public servant for the Queensland state government of Wayne Goss. Rudd was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1998 federal election, winning the Queensland division of Griffith. He was promoted to the shadow cabinet in 2001 as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. He assumed leadership of the Labor Party in December 2006 by defeating Kim Beazley in a leadership spill, becoming leader of the opposition. Rudd led Labor to a landslide victory at the 2007 election; his government's earliest acts included ratifying the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and delivering the first national apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples for the Stolen Generations. His government responded to the 2008 financial crisis, implementing economic stimulus packages that resulted in Australia becoming one of the only developed countries to avoid the Great Recession. Rudd's government also oversaw the establishment of the National Broadband Network (NBN), the launch of the Digital Education Revolution and Building the Education Revolution programs, dismantling WorkChoices, and withdrew Australian troops from the Iraq War.

By 2010, Rudd's leadership had faltered due to a loss of support among the Labor caucus and failure to pass key legislation like the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. He resigned as prime minister in June 2010 after his deputy Julia Gillard challenged him in a leadership spill. He was replaced by Gillard as prime minister, who later appointed him as Minister for Foreign Affairs in her government. Leadership tensions between Rudd and Gillard continued, leading to Rudd resigning as Foreign Minister in February 2012 to unsuccessfully challenge her for the leadership of the party. After further leadership speculation, Rudd defeated Gillard in a final leadership ballot in June 2013, becoming prime minister for the second time. However, Labor were defeated in the 2013 election, ending his second term after only two months.