Julia Gillard has been sworn in as Prime Minister at Government House in Canberra. Ms Gillard, now Australia’s 27th and the first elected female prime minister, signed a document and swore allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II.It is the second time in just a few weeks that Ms Gillard has been sworn in as Prime Minister, after she ousted Kevin Rudd from the top job on June 24.The Prime Minister said the Ministry includes experienced members of her Labor team remaining in Cabinet positions to continue their outstanding work in the most senior portfolios. The Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan will remain as Treasurer to continue to build our economy and bring the budget back into surplus by 2013. The Prime Minister said the appointment of several new Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries would bring fresh ideas into the fold, creating a dynamic mix of enthusiasm, expertise and experience.
Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will visit the United States within days of being sworn in Tuesday in his new role as Australia’s foreign minister.”This visit underlines the very high priority that the government places on its relations with the United States, Australia’s key strategic partner,” a joint statement said. Rudd, a 53-year-old former diplomat to Beijing who speaks fluent Mandarin, endeavored during almost three years as prime minister to elevate Australia’s influence in global affairs, and lobbied to gain Australia a temporary seat on the U.N. Security Council. Opposition lawmakers have criticized Gillard for staying home to focus on domestic issues. Her government is the first in 67 years to rule without a parliamentary majority, and the defection of a single lawmaker could bring it down. Parliament sits for the first time since the election on Sept. 28 when Gillard’s control of her fragile minority government will likely be tested.
Ms.Gillard’s sworn in was followed and supported by her fans across various social networking sites. Ms.Gillard is no stranger to popularity amongst youth. Ms. Gillard has over 23, 700 friends in her MySpace account Australia. That will put some perspective on the inroads she has made in a demographic who are young, active and very engaged in the political landscape of Australia. Ms Gillard is a big advocate and adopter of new age media. Her Facebook Fanpage was updated immediately after the sworn in ceremony and was probably the first to take the news to the public with images.
In the picture above you have Julia Gillard with Governor-General Quentin Bryce at her swearing-in as PM at Government House. It is lovely to see two powerful women of Australia’s governance category in the same picture. Some of the comments on the Fanpage read, “Great picture. So impressed that the two most powerful people in Australia are women! Women are so much better at running the show than men”, “Love that there are two really excellent women in this photograph ..go girls!” “giggles!!woot!! womens is the best!! giggles!!” etc . Those comments do carry some merit, don’t they, girls?
Ms.Gillard is expected to make her first overseas trip as Prime Minister in November when she attends a leaders’ summit of the Group of 20 economies in South Korea.
Julia Gillard swearing-in as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia.
