Kevin Michael Rudd was born on 21 September 1957 and 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, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party.
126 Facts About Kevin Rudd
2.
Kevin Rudd was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the 1998 federal election, as a member of parliament for the division of Griffith.
3.
Kevin Rudd was promoted to the shadow cabinet in 2001 as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
4.
Kevin Rudd led Labor to a landslide victory at the 2007 election, defeating the Howard government.
5.
In 2010, Kevin Rudd began to face instability within his party, after the Australian Senate rejected his government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
6.
Rather than contest the leadership, Kevin Rudd chose to resign, meaning that Gillard replaced him as prime minister.
7.
Kevin 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.
8.
Kevin Rudd remained in that role until resigning in February 2012, citing Gillard's failure to discipline colleagues who had publicly criticised him.
9.
Tensions over the leadership nevertheless continued; after a spill in March 2013, which Kevin Rudd did not contest, a further ballot was held in June 2013, which Kevin Rudd won by 57 votes to 45, becoming prime minister .
10.
Kevin Rudd retired from parliament following the election, but has stayed active in politics.
11.
Notably, Kevin 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.
12.
Kevin Rudd was appointed as Australia's Ambassador to the US by the Albanese government in March 2023.
13.
Kevin 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, 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.
14.
Kevin Rudd was praised for his management of the global financial crisis, willingness to apologise to Indigenous Australians, and diplomatic skills, but was widely criticised for his failure to negotiate a carbon pricing scheme and a tax on non-renewable resources.
15.
Kevin Rudd is often ranked in the middle-to-lower tier of Australian prime ministers.
16.
Thomas Kevin Rudd, who was convicted of stealing a bag of sugar, arrived in NSW on board the Earl Cornwallis in 1801.
17.
Kevin Rudd was born in Nambour, Queensland, to Albert and Margaret Kevin Rudd, the youngest son of four children, and grew up on a dairy farm in nearby Eumundi.
18.
When Kevin Rudd was 11, his father, a share farmer and Country Party member, died.
19.
Kevin Rudd boarded at Marist College Ashgrove in Brisbane, although these years were not happy due to the indignity of poverty and reliance on charity; he was known to be a "charity case" due to his father's sudden death.
20.
Kevin Rudd has since described the school as "tough, harsh, unforgiving, institutional Catholicism of the old school".
21.
Two years later, after she retrained as a nurse, Kevin Rudd's mother moved the family to Nambour, and Kevin Rudd rebuilt his standing through study and scholastic application and was dux of Nambour State High School in 1974.
22.
Kevin Rudd studied at the Australian National University in Canberra, where he resided at Burgmann College and graduated with Bachelor of Arts with First-Class Honours.
23.
Kevin Rudd majored in Chinese language and Chinese history, and became proficient in Mandarin.
24.
Kevin Rudd completed his BA in 1978, deferring his honours component for a year during which time he took a study trip to Taiwan.
25.
Kevin Rudd volunteered as a research assistant with the Zadok Institute for Christianity and at a St Vincent de Paul drug rehabilitation centre.
26.
Kevin Rudd joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1981 as a graduate trainee.
27.
Kevin Rudd's first posting was as Third Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Stockholm from November 1981 to December 1983 where he organised an Australian film festival, represented Australia at the Stockholm Conference on Acidification of the Environment, and reported on Soviet gas pipelines and European energy security.
28.
In 1984, Kevin Rudd was appointed Second Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Beijing, and promoted to First Secretary in 1985, where he was responsible for analysing Politburo politics, economic reform, arms control and human rights under Ross Garnaut, David Irvine and Geoff Raby.
29.
Kevin Rudd returned to Canberra in 1987 and was assigned to the Policy Planning Branch, then the Staffing Policy Section, and was selected to serve as the Office of National Assessments Liaison Officer at the Australian High Commission in London commencing in 1989 but declined.
30.
Kevin Rudd remained in that role when Goss was elected Premier in 1989, a position he held until 1992 when Goss appointed him Director-General of the Office of Cabinet.
31.
Kevin Rudd presided over a number of reforms, including development of a national program for teaching foreign languages in schools.
32.
Kevin Rudd was influential in both promoting a policy of developing an Asian languages and cultures program which was unanimously accepted by the Council of Australian Governments in 1992 and later chaired a high-level working group which provided the foundation of the strategy in its report, which is frequently cited as "the Kevin Rudd Report".
33.
Kevin Rudd was defeated by Liberal Graeme McDougall on the eighth count as Labor won only two seats in Queensland.
34.
Kevin Rudd stood in the same seat against McDougall in the 1998 election, this time winning on the fifth count.
35.
Kevin Rudd made his maiden speech to the House of Representatives as the new Member for the Division of Griffith on 11 November 1998.
36.
When Labor Leader Simon Crean was challenged by his predecessor Kim Beazley, Kevin Rudd did not publicly commit himself to either candidate.
37.
When Crean resigned, Kevin Rudd was considered a possible candidate for the Labor leadership, however he announced that he would not run in the leadership ballot, and would instead vote for Kim Beazley.
38.
Kevin Rudd was predicted by some commentators to be demoted or moved as a result of his support for Beazley following the election of Mark Latham as Leader, but he retained his portfolio.
39.
Relations between Latham and Kevin Rudd deteriorated during 2004, especially after Latham made his pledge to withdraw all Australian forces from Iraq by Christmas 2004 without consulting Kevin Rudd.
40.
When Latham suddenly resigned in January 2005, Kevin Rudd was in Indonesia and refused to say whether he would be a candidate for the Labor leadership.
41.
One particular poll in November 2006 indicated that support for Labor would double if Kevin Rudd was to become Leader.
42.
At his first press conference as Labor Leader, having thanked Beazley and Macklin, Kevin Rudd said he would offer a "new style of leadership" and would be an "alternative, not just an echo" of the Howard government.
43.
Kevin Rudd outlined the areas of industrial relations, the war in Iraq, climate change, Australian federalism, social justice and the future of Australia's manufacturing industry as major policy concerns.
44.
Kevin Rudd stressed his long experience in state government and as a diplomat and in business before entering federal politics.
45.
Kevin Rudd maintained a high media profile with major announcements on an "education revolution", federalism, climate change, a National Broadband Network, and the domestic car industry.
46.
In March 2007 the government raised questions over a series of meetings Kevin Rudd had had with former West Australian Labor Premier Brian Burke during 2005, alleging that Kevin Rudd had been attempting to use Burke's influence to become Labor leader.
47.
Kevin Rudd said that this had not been the purpose of the three meetings and said that they had been arranged by his colleague Graham Edwards, the Member for Cowan.
48.
From 2002, Kevin Rudd appeared regularly in interviews and topical discussions on the popular breakfast television program Sunrise, along with Liberal MP Joe Hockey.
49.
On 3 December 2007, Kevin Rudd was sworn in as the 26th prime minister of Australia by governor-general Michael Jeffery.
50.
Kevin Rudd was the first Labor Prime Minister since Paul Keating left office in 1996, and the first ever to make no mention of the monarch when taking his oath of office.
51.
Kevin Rudd became only the second Queenslander to lead his party to a federal election victory and was the first prime minister since the Second World War not to have come from either New South Wales or Victoria.
52.
Early initiatives of the Kevin Rudd government included the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, a Parliamentary Apology to the Stolen Generations and the 2020 Summit in April 2008.
53.
Kevin Rudd was named as one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2008.
54.
Kevin Rudd attended the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2007 just ten days after being sworn in.
55.
Kevin Rudd established the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and storage technology globally and the sharing of information.
56.
The Kevin Rudd government sought to introduce an emissions trading scheme to tackle climate change in Australia and embarked on a thorough policy development process involving the Garnaut Review led by its climate change adviser, Ross Garnaut, followed by a green paper on ETS design issues, Treasury modelling to inform mitigation target decisions and a final white paper, which would be published in December 2008.
57.
Kevin Rudd personally committed himself to international action on climate change in the lead-up to the Copenhagen Summit in December 2009.
58.
Kevin Rudd announced financial help for small island states affected by climate change at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009 and used the meeting to rally support for the Copenhagen summit.
59.
Kevin Rudd played a key role in Copenhagen in delivering an accord despite the wide divergence of views among advanced and emerging economies.
60.
Kevin Rudd pledged the government to bridging the gap between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australian health, education and living conditions, and in a way that respects their rights to self-determination.
61.
Since leaving politics, Kevin Rudd has established the Australian National Apology Foundation, as foreshadowed in his final speech to Parliament, to continue to promote reconciliation and closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
62.
Kevin Rudd has contributed $100,000 to the Foundation and to kickstart fundraising for a National Apology Chair at the Australian National University.
63.
Internationally, Kevin Rudd helped lead efforts to make the G20 the most influential global forum coordinating policies to counter the global impact of the crisis.
64.
Kevin Rudd affirmed his general belief in competitive markets, but repudiated neoliberalism and free market economists such as Friedrich Hayek, saying governments must regulate markets and intervene where they fail.
65.
On election to office prior to the Global Financial Crisis, the Kevin Rudd government announced a five-point plan to combat inflation.
66.
Kevin Rudd responded by demoting the minister responsible, Peter Garrett, suspending the scheme and commissioning an immediate review of the program by Dr Allan Hawke.
67.
Kevin Rudd came to office pledging to overhaul WorkChoices, a key Howard government policy commencing in March 2006 which had been attacked for reducing pay and conditions in the workplace, and which was crucial to Howard's defeat at the 2007 federal election.
68.
Kevin Rudd established a single industrial relations bureaucracy called Fair Work Australia, designed to play a far more interventionist role than the Howard government's Fair Pay Commission.
69.
In 2010, Kevin Rudd appointed Tony Burke as population minister to examine population goals.
70.
In May 2008, Kevin Rudd committed to a "root and branch" review of all aspects of the Australian taxation system, led by the secretary of the Treasury, Ken Henry, and taking evidence from a wide range of sources.
71.
Kevin Rudd announced a significant and far-reaching strategic reform to Australian healthcare in 2010.
72.
The Kevin Rudd government increased the age pension by more than $100 a fortnight for singles and $76 for couples, the largest increase since 1909, in response to the Harmer Review which found that single retirees living on their own were unusually disadvantaged.
73.
The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Dr Derek Sikua, was the first foreign head of government Mr Kevin Rudd received as Prime Minister.
74.
Kevin Rudd dismissed each of the reasons which had been used to commit Australian troops to the Iraq War in 2003, and accused his predecessor of abusing pre-war intelligence, some of which indicated that an attack on Iraq would increase the threat of terrorism.
75.
The Kevin Rudd government redefined Australia's role in Afghanistan, including Australia's particular responsibility for Uruzgan Province.
76.
Kevin Rudd continued to support Australian military involvement in Afghanistan, despite the growing number of Australian casualties.
77.
On 29 April 2009, Kevin Rudd committed 450 extra troops to the region bringing the total to 1550.
78.
Kevin Rudd was in favour of Australia's military presence in Afghanistan.
79.
Kevin Rudd gave his support for the independence of Kosovo from Serbia, before Australia officially recognised the republic.
80.
In 2008 Kevin Rudd advised the appointment of Quentin Bryce as the first female Governor-General of Australia to Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia.
81.
Kevin Rudd has moved to remove financial discrimination against LGBT couples, but he had previously been opposed to legislation to recognize same-sex marriage.
82.
In May 2013 Kevin Rudd announced he had changed his position based on personal experience and the fact that his children had long thought him "an unreconstructed dinosaur" for not supporting marriage equality legislation.
83.
In May 2008, Kevin Rudd was drawn into the controversy over photographic artist Bill Henson and his work depicting naked adolescents as part of a show due to open at an inner-city gallery in Sydney.
84.
Late that evening, after it became clear that Kevin Rudd had lost the support of a large number of Labor MPs, Gillard publicly requested that Kevin Rudd hold a leadership election as soon as possible.
85.
Kevin Rudd became the first Australian prime minister to be removed from office by his own party during his first term.
86.
Kevin Rudd announced following his resignation as prime minister that he would re-contest his seat of Griffith for the 2010 federal election, set for 21 August.
87.
Gillard later requested that Kevin Rudd join the national campaign to boost Labor's chances of re-election, which he did.
88.
Kevin Rudd represented Gillard at a UN General Assembly meeting in September 2010.
89.
Kevin Rudd said he had offered Australian atomic expertise and sought urgent briefings following an explosion at a nuclear plant.
90.
Kevin Rudd announced his resignation as Foreign Minister on 22 February 2012, citing Gillard's failure to counter character attacks launched by Simon Crean and "other faceless men" as his reasons.
91.
Kevin Rudd resigned as the Minister for Foreign Affairs followed heated speculation about a possible leadership spill.
92.
Amidst the controversy, an expletive-laden video of out-takes of an intemperate Kevin Rudd attempting to record a Chinese language message during his time as prime minister was released anonymously on YouTube, apparently aimed at discrediting his push for the leadership.
93.
When Kevin Rudd resigned on 22 February 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan lambasted Kevin Rudd as "dysfunctional".
94.
Labor Senator Doug Cameron came out in support of Kevin Rudd and called on his colleagues to show him respect.
95.
Later that day, Kevin Rudd said that he did not think Gillard could defeat the Coalition at the next election and that, since his resignation, he had received encouragement from Labor MPs to contest the leadership.
96.
The political editor of the Australian newspaper, Dennis Shanahan, reported on 10 June 2013 that Kevin Rudd was "mobbed" by supporters in the Victorian city of Geelong on 7 June 2013 and that he was "expected to be returned to the ALP leadership".
97.
Gillard said that, in her view, the loser of the ballot should retire from politics; Kevin Rudd agreed that this would be appropriate.
98.
Key Gillard supporter Bill Shorten, who was one of the main figures responsible for Kevin Rudd's previous overturn as prime minister, this time announced his support for Kevin Rudd.
99.
At 9:53 am, Kevin Rudd was sworn in as prime minister for a second term, becoming the second Labor Prime Minister to have a second non-consecutive term; the first was Andrew Fisher.
100.
On 4 August 2013, Kevin Rudd announced that he had visited Governor-General Quentin Bryce at Parliament House, asking her to dissolve Parliament and for a federal election to be held on 7 September.
101.
On 13 November 2013, Kevin Rudd announced that he would soon resign from Parliament.
102.
Kevin Rudd submitted his resignation in writing to the Speaker, Bronwyn Bishop, on 22 November 2013, formally ending his parliamentary career.
103.
Kevin Rudd offered Butler his support and advice, and campaigned with her in a low-key appearance on 11 January 2014.
104.
Since leaving the Australian Parliament, Kevin Rudd has served in senior roles for a range of international organisations and educational institutions.
105.
In early 2014, Kevin Rudd left Australia to work in the United States, where he was appointed a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he completed a major research effort on the future of US-China relations.
106.
On 5 November 2015, Kevin Rudd was appointed to chair Sanitation and Water For All, a global partnership to achieve universal access to drinking water and adequate sanitation.
107.
Kevin Rudd has actively contributed to the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on China.
108.
Kevin Rudd is a member of the Berggruen Institute's 21st Century Council.
109.
In 2016, Kevin Rudd asked the Government of Australia to nominate him for Secretary-General of the United Nations.
110.
Kevin Rudd is a member of the Global Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organisation comprising a network of former heads of state or government.
111.
In late 2022, there were calls for Kevin Rudd to be appointed as the next Australian Ambassador to the United States.
112.
On 20 December 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong announced that Kevin Rudd would be appointed as the 23rd Ambassador of Australia to the United States in early 2023, succeeding Arthur Sinodinos.
113.
In October 2017, Kevin Rudd launched the first volume of his autobiography, entitled Not for the Faint-hearted: A Personal Reflection on Life, Politics and Purpose, which chronicles his life until becoming prime minister in 2007.
114.
On 10 October 2020, Kevin Rudd launched a petition for a royal commission into what he termed the "Murdoch media monopoly" and its impact on Australian democracy.
115.
On 25 October 2020, Kevin Rudd was joined by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull who gave him his support, tweeting that he too had signed the petition.
116.
In 2017, Kevin Rudd began studying for a doctorate on Xi Jinping at Jesus College, Oxford.
117.
In 2022, Kevin Rudd was conferred with a Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Oxford.
118.
In 1981, Kevin Rudd married Therese Rein whom he had met at a gathering of the Australian Student Christian Movement during his university years.
119.
In December 2009, Kevin Rudd attended a Catholic Mass to commemorate the canonisation of Mary MacKillop at which he received Holy Communion.
120.
Kevin Rudd's actions provoked criticism and debate among both political and religious circles.
121.
Kevin Rudd was a mainstay of the parliamentary prayer group in Parliament House, Canberra.
122.
Kevin Rudd cites Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a personal inspiration in this regard.
123.
When in Canberra, Kevin Rudd and Rein worshipped at St John the Baptist Church, Reid, where they were married.
124.
Kevin Rudd often did a "door stop" interview for the media when leaving the church yard.
125.
In 1993, Kevin Rudd underwent a cardiac valve transplant operation, receiving a cadaveric aortic valve replacement for rheumatic heart disease.
126.
In 2011, Kevin Rudd underwent a second cardiac valve transplant operation, making a full recovery from the surgery.