Kevin Rudd In Australia

Kevin Rudd

Kevin Michael Rudd, from the Labor Party was Prime Minister of Australia on two separate occasions from 2007 to 2010 then again in 2013 for11 weeks. He is one of only four Australian Prime Ministers to serve more than one non-consecutive term, the others being Andrew Fisher, Alfred Deakin and Robert Menzies.

Rudd 's terms as Prime Minister is a source of continued debate among political commentators and the Labor party itself. Most notably he is one of the key figures of Australia 's “Year of three Prime Ministers” (2013)

Rudd was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1998. He moved quickly within Party Headquarters and was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet in 2001 as the Shadow Minister of Foriegn Affairs. Defeating

Rudd spent seven years as an Australian diplomat in the 1980 's before being appointed as the Chief of Staff to the Opposition Leader in Queensland. Rudd was promoted to the Director-General of the Office of the Cabinet, arguably the most powerful bureaucrat in Queensland. In this role Rudd instated a number of key reforms including developing a national program for teaching foreign languages in schools.

In 1996 Rudd was selected to be the Labor candidate for the seat of Griffith. Rudd was defeated during that election with Labor only winning two seats in the state of Queensland. Rudd stood again in 1998, this time winning against Liberal Graeme McDougall.

Kevin Rudd 's maiden speech to the House of Representatives set out three core ideas: the beneficial role of the state, the requirement for improved educational opportunities and the necessity for Australia to be an active international citizen.

In 2001 Rudd was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet and appointed Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. He was instrumental in developing the position Labor would take in regards to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. During the invasion, Rudd was a outspoken member and often criticised the Howard government 's unwavering support of the US lead mission, questioning whether the Australian public was misled about the reasons for going to war. These criticisms gained him media attention, making him one of the best known Labor members at

Rudd 's apology was particularly addressed to the “Stolen Generations”, the tens of thousands of indigenous children who were removed, sometimes forcibly, from their families in a policy of assimilation (where past governments wanted Indigenous people forgo their culture, languages and traditions).

Tens of thousands of Australians, including many classrooms across the country, heard Kevin Rudd 's speech which included the following words:

“We apologize especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country. For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry. And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.”

The apology was controversial as previous governments refused to apologise as they did not feel responsible for the misdeeds of past governments and also because they feared that the move would lead to monetary compensation claims