Julia Gillard became the first woman prime minister of Australia on Thursday after Kevin Rudd was removed from office.

Labor government has shown its support for Gillard after Rudd’s failure to implement several policies, including his inability to sell a controversial mining tax, his initiatives on the climate change issue and the postponement of a carbon trading scheme.

In a media conference in Canberra, an emotional Rudd told the media, “I have given it my absolute best; I have given it my all.”

Gillard, born in Wales but raised in Australia, is a lawyer and has worked as an industrial lawyer and a union official. In a conference held on Thursday, after her appointment, she said her decision to challenge Rudd was due to her observation that a “good government was losing its way.”

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