Gillard Government to our alliance with the United States, the international community understands this, our friends and allies understand this, and our enemies understand this too". On her first day as Prime Minister, Gillard reassured her position towards the war to President Barack Obama of the United States. Prime Minister Gillard made an official visit to Afghanistan, in October 2010. There she met members of the Australian Defence Force in Tarin Kowt, and had discussions with President Hamid Karzai. This visit was part of her first international trip as Prime Minister. In April 2012, Prime Minister Gillard announced that her government would
Julia Gillard conclusion of a criminal investigation. After a week of controversy, Gillard announced that she was asking Slipper to delay his return to the Chair pending the conclusion of concurrent civil proceedings, in an effort to dispel what she described as a "dark cloud" over her government (a reference also to the ongoing Craig Thomson affair involving a Labor MP linked to corruption allegations). In the light of poor polling results for the Gillard Government, speculation that Foreign Minister and former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wished to challenge Gillard for the leadership culminated with Rudd resigning from the Cabinet on 22