Julia Gillard AC (b. 1961) was the 27th Prime Minister of Australia. After graduating in Arts and Law from the University of Melbourne, she joined the law firm Slater & Gordon in 1987. She took up the position of Chief of Staff to then Victorian Opposition Leader, John Brumby, in 1996 and two years later was elected to the House of Representatives. By late 2006 she was Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Gillard became Deputy Prime Minister following Labor's victory in the 2007 Federal election, and in June 2010 defeated Kevin Rudd in a leadership ballot, becoming Australia's first female Prime Minister. Among her most significant achievements as Prime Minister are the introduction of a price on carbon, disability care, education reforms, and the Royal Commission on institutional child abuse. On 26 June 2013 she lost the leadership in a spill to Rudd; she resigned the following day.
Peter Brew-Bevan took this last official portrait of Julia Gillard as Prime Minister. 'This image was taken on the Monday of the June long weekend, right when the grab for office began … she is an amazingly strong woman … what must have been going through her mind at the time of this photograph – still to allow her vulnerability to show through is quite remarkable and a true testament to her stoic nature.'
Gift of the artist 2013
© Peter Brew-Bevan
Peter Brew-Bevan (6 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves: who we read, who we watch, who we listen to, who we cheer for, who we aspire to be, and who we'll never forget. The Companion is available to buy online and in the Portrait Gallery Store.
Seventeen of Australia’s thirty prime ministers to date are represented in the contrasting sizes, moods and mediums of these portraits.
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