Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian politician who is currently the Prime Minister of Australia. She was sworn in as Australia's 27th, and very first female, Prime Minister on 24 June 2010 after a leadership ballot confirmed she had the support of the Australian Labor Party to ascend to the party leadership and become Prime Minister.
Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales in 1961. Her father was a coal miner in Wales, and she has a sister, Alison, who is three years older; Nye Bevan remains one of her political heroes.
After Julia suffered from bronchopneumonia as a child, her parents were advised it would aid her recovery to live in a warmer climate. The family chose to migrate to Australia in 1966, settling in Adelaide.
Her father trained as a psychiatric nurse, while her mother worked at the local Salvation Army Old People's Home.
Gillard and her sister attended Mitcham Demonstration School, and then graduated from Unley High School in 1978. She then attended the University of Adelaide, and on graduation moved to Melbourne to work with the Australian Union of Students (AUS). In 1987 she graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Laws degree and with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1990.
In 1987 she joined left-leaning law firm Slater & Gordon at Werribee, working in the area of industrial law. In 1990 at the age of 29, she was admitted as one of their first female partners.
In this writer's humble opinion, having a Welsh mother and a deep feelings for my ancestral roots, it is really great to not only finally have a female who deserves and has earnt the post of this nation's leader but to also know that she has a strong Welsh background herself!
Caiff yn ffaglu 'n goch gwallt a chwedleua cara bupur botio. Mai Celi llywia 'i balf!
4 comments:
that welsh phrase is a bit odd?flaming red hair and a pepperpot??
Was it odd - something in the translation, perhaps?
"A flaming redhead who speaks like a pepperpot!" (Hot and grating talker!)LOL
Thanks for some background information on your new PM. Do you think she/Labor will be re-elected?
Yes - undoubtedly.
She came out today and revoked the "Big Australia" policy (which envisioned a population growth to 30million by 2034) and announced that the policy was now a "Sustainable Population" and migrant intake would be dictated by industry needs and immigrant skills to meet those needs.
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