Who is Australia's first female Prime Minister?
"is on vacation, or is in ill health. In the early 20th century, when travel by ship was still the norm, it was not uncommon for there to be an acting Prime Minister for months on end. The deputy Prime Minister is usually designated as the acting Prime Minister, although another senior member of the government may fill the role if both the Prime Minister and deputy Prime Minister are unavailable. An acting Prime Minister is required quite frequently – for instance, between 3 December 2007 and 23 February 2009 (during Kevin Rudd's first term), Julia Gillard acted as Prime"
"Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 2010 to 2013. She was previously the 13th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 until 2010 and held the cabinet positions of Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion from 2007 to 2010. She was the first and to date only woman to hold the positions of Deputy Prime Minister, Prime Minister and leader of a major party in Australia. Born"
"Australia's first female Prime Minister on 24 June 2010, with Treasurer Wayne Swan being appointed Deputy Prime Minister. In her first press conference as Labor Leader on 23 June, Gillard said that after three and a half years of ""most loyal service"", she had asked her colleagues to make a leadership change ""because I believed that a good government was losing its way"" and that Labor was at risk at the next election. She assured the public that her government would restore the budget to surplus in 2013 and said that it would build community consensus for a price on"
"female head of government in Australia, as Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory. Carmen Lawrence was the first female premier of an Australian state when she took the office of Premier of Western Australia in February 1990. She was followed by the appointment of Joan Kirner as Premier of Victoria, in which position she served from 1990 to 1992, when her party was swept from office by Jeff Kennett's conservatives. Clare Martin was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2001 to 2007. Anna Bligh became Premier of Queensland in 2007 when Peter Beattie retired. In 2009, she became"
"Rosemary Follett Rosemary Follett (born 27 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the inaugural Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, serving in 1989 and again between 1991 and 1995. She was the first woman to become head of government in an Australian state or territory. The daughter of a court reporter, Aubrey Follett, an Anglican, and his wife, Judith (née Lusby), a Roman Catholic, she was born in Sydney in 1948, and moved with her family to Canberra in 1952. She attended Canberra Catholic Girls' High School. She joined the Australian Public Service after leaving school,"
"Carmen Lawrence Carmen Mary Lawrence (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian academic and former politician who was the Premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. A member of the Labor Party, she later entered federal politics as a member of the House of Representatives from 1994 to 2007, and served as a minister in the Keating Government. Lawrence was born in Northam, Western Australia. She studied psychology at the University of Western Australia, obtaining a doctorate in 1983, and before entering politics worked as a lecturer and"
"In 2015 Annastacia Palaszczuk of Queensland became the first woman to be elected premier from opposition and was the first female premier to be elected for a second term after winning the 2017 Queensland state election. Despite being the earliest state to grant voting rights and allow women to stand in parliament since 1895, South Australia has never elected a female premier. Julia Gillard became Australia's first female prime minister on 24 June 2010. Women's suffrage groups began to appear in the Australian political landscape in the 1880s. The first, the Victorian Women's Suffrage Society, was formed by Henrietta Dugdale"
"On 24 June 2010, Altona became home to Australia's first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, a then resident of Altona. Gillard was voted in by the governing Australian Labor Party to replace Kevin Rudd as its leader, making her Australia's 27th Prime Minister. In the 2016 Census, there were 10,762 people in Altona. 64.6% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 4.8%, New Zealand 2.3%, Malta 2.1%, India 1.7% and Italy 1.6%. 73.3% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian 2.3%, Maltese 2.2%, Mandarin 1.7%,"
"Margaret Guilfoyle Dame Margaret Georgina Constance Guilfoyle, (; née McCartney; born 15 May 1926) is a former Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 1971 to 1987, representing the Liberal Party. She was the first woman to hold a cabinet-level ministerial portfolio in Australia, and served as a minister for the duration of the Fraser Government. Guilfoyle was successively Minister for Education (1975), Minister for Social Security (1975–1980), and Minister for Finance (1980–1983). She worked as an accountant before entering politics, and in retirement held various positions in the public and non-profit sectors. Guilfoyle was born Margaret"
"Enid Lyons Dame Enid Muriel Lyons (née Burnell; 9 July 1897 – 2 September 1981) was an Australian politician who was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives and the first woman to serve in federal cabinet. Prior to her own political career, she was best known as the wife of Joseph Lyons, who was Prime Minister of Australia (1932–1939) and Premier of Tasmania (1923–1928). Lyons was born in Smithton, Tasmania. She grew up in various small towns in northern Tasmania, and trained as a schoolteacher. At the age of 17, she married politician Joseph Lyons, who was"
"woman Premier was Carmen Lawrence, becoming Premier of Western Australia in 1990. The short-lived Australian Women's Party sought to ensure equal representation of men and women at all levels of government. Quentin Bryce was the first woman to hold the position of Governor-General of Australia between September 2008 and March 2014. Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard gained international attention and praise in 2012 for an off-the-cuff speech in the Australian federal parliament directed at then Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott. The speech, known as The Misogyny Speech has been uploaded to YouTube multiple times, with several thousand views each. The speech"
"at the age of 10 months. Another son, Barry, was born with achondroplasia. Enid Lyons Dame Enid Muriel Lyons (née Burnell; 9 July 1897 – 2 September 1981) was an Australian politician who was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives and the first woman to serve in federal cabinet. Prior to her own political career, she was best known as the wife of Joseph Lyons, who was Prime Minister of Australia (1932–1939) and Premier of Tasmania (1923–1928). Lyons was born in Smithton, Tasmania. She grew up in various small towns in northern Tasmania, and trained as a"
"women to enter federal politics in 2014. Kathy Sullivan was the first woman to have served in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. On 24 June 2010, Julia Gillard became the first woman to lead one of the major political parties at the federal level as Leader of the Australian Labor Party, as well as the first female Prime Minister of Australia. However, as it became clear that her minority government was headed for an unprecedented landslide defeat, she was deposed by her own party in June 2013 in favour of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, whom she"
"and in all states and territories until 1962. While the ""Commonwealth Franchise Act"" allowed women to stand in the 1903 and subsequent Federal elections, it was not until the 1943 election that Enid Lyons and Senator Dorothy Tangney became the first women to be elected to the Australian Parliament. The first female to lead a state or territory government was Rosemary Follett serving in 1989 and again between 1991 and 1995 as chief minister of the ACT. The first female premier was Carmen Lawrence, leading Western Australia for three years until 1993. Joan Kirner was the first female premier of"
"for the role of women in public life, and to the not-for-profit sector. Anna Bligh Anna Maria Bligh (born 14 July 1960) is a former Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of Queensland, in office from 2007 to 2012 as leader of the Labor Party. She was the first woman to hold either position. Bligh was born in Warwick, Queensland, and studied at the University of Queensland. Before entering politics she worked for various community organisations. Bligh entered the Queensland Legislative Assembly at the 1995 state election, winning the seat of South Brisbane. She was promoted to the"
"2010 Australian Labor Party leadership spill The Australian Labor Party leadership spill, 2010 occurred on 24 June 2010. Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia, was challenged by Julia Gillard, the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, for the leadership of the Australian Labor Party. Gillard won the election unopposed after Rudd declined to contest, choosing instead to resign. Gillard was duly sworn in as Prime Minister by Quentin Bryce, the Governor-General, on 24 June 2010 at Government House, becoming Australia's first female Prime Minister. Gillard was the Deputy Leader of the Labor Party since 4 December 2006, and was appointed"
"Anna Bligh Anna Maria Bligh (born 14 July 1960) is a former Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of Queensland, in office from 2007 to 2012 as leader of the Labor Party. She was the first woman to hold either position. Bligh was born in Warwick, Queensland, and studied at the University of Queensland. Before entering politics she worked for various community organisations. Bligh entered the Queensland Legislative Assembly at the 1995 state election, winning the seat of South Brisbane. She was promoted to the ministry in 1998, under Peter Beattie, and became deputy premier in 2005 and"
"his candidacy and resigned as party leader, leaving Gillard to take the leadership unopposed. Gillard was then sworn in as Australia's 27th Prime Minister by Governor-General Quentin Bryce and became Australia's first female Prime Minister on 24 June 2010, with Treasurer Wayne Swan appointed as Deputy Prime Minister. In the aftermath of the 2010 leadership challenge, Shorten, a former trade union leader, and key Parliamentary member of the Labor Right Faction, nominated the government's handling of the insulation program; the sudden announcement of change of policy on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme; and the way in which they had ""introduced"
"has been in government for all but two years since 1989. In winning the election, Bligh became Australia's first popularly elected female premier. The two previous female premiers, Carmen Lawrence (Western Australia 1990–93) and Joan Kirner (Victoria 1990–92), became premiers following the resignation of male premiers (as Bligh did), but both were defeated at the following respective state elections. However, Bligh is not Australia's first popularly elected female head of government. Rosemary Follett and Kate Carnell were both popularly elected as Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, and Clare Martin was elected as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory."
"Since then, four other women, Dorothy Pratt, Rosa Lee Long, Elisa Roberts, and Sandy Bolton have won seats for non-major parties or as independents. Pratt, Lee Long and Roberts were originally elected for One Nation, although Pratt and Roberts subsequently retained their seats as independents. Only two Indigenous Australian women, Leeanne Enoch (2015) and Cynthia Lui (2017), have been elected to the Queensland parliament. Anna Bligh was the first woman to become Premier, succeeding Peter Beattie in 2007. In 2009 she became the first woman in Australia to win an election as Premier. In 2015, the two highest ministers in"
"Annabelle Rankin Dame Annabelle Jane Mary Rankin DBE (28 July 190830 August 1986) was an Australian politician and diplomat. She was the first woman from Queensland elected to parliament, the first woman federal government minister, and the first Australian woman to be appointed head of a foreign mission. Rankin was born in Brisbane, the daughter of state MP Colin Rankin. A member of the Liberal Party, she was elected to the Senate at the 1946 federal election, taking her seat the following year. She was the second woman elected to the Senate, after Dorothy Tangney. Rankin was the Liberal Party's"
"appointed Tony Street as the first Minister Assisting the Prime Minister in Women’s Affairs; Street and his successor Ian Macphee are the only men to have held the post. Senator Margaret Guilfoyle, the only female minister at the time (and one of only six women in parliament), declined the position, as she was unwilling to be pigeonholed into portfolios that were considered ""women's work"". In the Government of Australia, the Minister administers the portfolio through the Office for Women within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, with the budget being administered through the Department of Social Services. Currently,"
"Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. In the Northern Territory, Clare Martin became the first female chief minister in 2001 winning from opposition and was reelected in 2005 with an increased majority. In 2007, Anna Bligh became the first female premier in Queensland after the retirement of Peter Beattie, and in 2009, Bligh became the first popularly elected woman premier. In NSW, Kristina Keneally became the first female premier of the state in 2009 and was defeated at the 2011 state election. Lara Giddings was the first female Premier of the state of Tasmania between January 2011 and March 2014."
"to the West Australian Legislative Assembly in 1921. Dame Enid Lyons, was the first woman to hold a Cabinet post in the 1949 ministry of Robert Menzies and finally, Rosemary Follett was elected Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory in 1989, becoming the first woman elected to lead a state or territory. By 2010, the people of Australia's oldest city, Sydney had female leaders occupying every major political office above them, with Clover Moore as Lord Mayor, Kristina Keneally as Premier of New South Wales, Marie Bashir as Governor of New South Wales, Julia Gillard as Prime Minister, Quentin"
"were not present for the first 20 years of Australian politics until the 1921 election of Edith Cowan to the West Australian Legislative Assembly, and were not represented federally until the 1943 federal election when Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons were elected to the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively. Lyons would go on to become the first woman to hold a Cabinet position in Robert Menzies' 1949 ministry. Women would not go on to lead a state or territory until Rosemary Follett was elected Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory in 1989. Australia's first female Prime Minister,"
"became Queensland's first female premier, a position she occupies for five years, and Julia Gillard MP becomes Deputy Prime Minister. Three years later, Gillard is elected as Australia's first female prime minister. Dame Quentin Bryce became the first and only woman appointed to Governor-General, a position that is representative of the Monarch, in 2008 and served until 2014. Christine Milne is the only woman that has been head of a major political party when she was elected leader of the Australian Greens in 2012. Indigenous people, women in particular, are grossly underrepresented in Australian Parliament. Since Federation in 1901, there"
"Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and Dame Enid Lyons who was the first woman elected to Australia's House of Representatives, and the first woman appointed to the federal cabinet. Her father was Deputy Premier of Tasmania Kevin Lyons. She was married to criminal lawyer, Michael Jones, who died in 2010. She has since remarried to Dr George Bowen. She has one son, to her late husband. Libby Lyons Libby Lyons is the Director of the Australian Government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency. She was appointed Director for a period of five years from October 2015. Libby is responsible for promoting and"
"million in 2016. Kristina Keneally Kristina Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for New South Wales since February 2018, representing the Labor Party. She previously served as Premier of New South Wales from 2009 to 2011, the first woman to hold the position. Keneally was born in the United States to an American father and an Australian mother. She grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and is a graduate of the University of Dayton. After marrying an Australian, Ben Keneally, she settled in Australia permanently and became a naturalised citizen in 2000."
"the ACT's sister-city relationship with Nara and was a member of the Milk Authority of the ACT in 1996, and the Canberra Labor Club, Canberra Tradesmen's Club and the Australian Fabian Society. Follett was the ACT's Sex Discrimination Commissioner from 1996 to 2004. On 14 April 2014, Follett received an honorary doctorate from the University of Canberra. Rosemary Follett Rosemary Follett (born 27 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the inaugural Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, serving in 1989 and again between 1991 and 1995. She was the first woman to become head of government"
"leadership, telling the media that the Rudd Government had entered a ""period of paralysis"" and that Rudd's work patterns were ""difficult and chaotic"". Upon her election by the Labor Party, Gillard said that she wouldn't move into The Lodge until she was elected Prime Minister in her own right, instead choosing to divide her time between a flat in Canberra and her home in Altona, a western suburb of Melbourne. Gillard moved into The Lodge on 26 September 2010. As well as being the first female Prime Minister, and the first never to have married, Gillard is the first Prime"
"most notably Dame Enid Lyons (1932–39), who had 12 children (one died in infancy). In 1943, four years after her husband's death in office, she was the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives. She was a junior minister in the Menzies Government from 1949 to 1951. Some Prime Ministers' spouses have received official recognition for their services to the community: Tamie Fraser was the first spouse of a Prime Minister to be provided with an official secretary for dealing with her correspondence. There are currently seven living spouses of former prime ministers of Australia: The most"
"female majority of 8 of 14, a first in Australia. Kristina Keneally was the Labor Premier of New South Wales between 4 December 2009 and 28 March 2011. Julia Gillard was the Labor Prime Minister of Australia between 24 June 2010 and 27 June 2013. Lara Giddings was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 24 January 2011 to 31 March 2014. Gladys Berejiklian became Liberal Premier of New South Wales on 23 January 2017. Marie Bashir was appointed Governor of New South Wales by Labor Premier Bob Carr from 1 March 2001 and continued in the office until 1 October 2014."
"the Federal Parliament in 1943. In 1971, Senator Neville Bonner became the first Aboriginal Australian to sit in the federal Parliament. Rosemary Follett was elected Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory in 1989, becoming the first woman elected to lead a state or territory. In 2010, Julia Gillard became the first female Prime Minister of Australia. By 2010, the people of Australia's oldest city, Sydney, had female leaders occupying every major political office above them, with Clover Moore as Lord Mayor, Kristina Keneally as Premier of New South Wales, Marie Bashir as Governor of New South Wales, Julia Gillard"