First Gillard Ministry First Gillard Ministry The First Gillard Ministry (Labor) was the 66th ministry of the Australian government and was led by the prime minister, Julia Gillard. It succeeded the first Rudd Ministry upon its swearing in by the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, on 24 June 2010. It was replaced by the second Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010 after the 2010 election. The change in ministry followed a series of events on 23–24 June that led to the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, first calling a leadership ballot within the governing Labor Party after being challenged by his deputy, Julia Gillard,
Acting prime minister is on vacation, or is in ill health. In the early 20th century, when travel by ship was still the norm, it was not uncommon for there to be an acting Prime Minister for months on end. The deputy Prime Minister is usually designated as the acting Prime Minister, although another senior member of the government may fill the role if both the Prime Minister and deputy Prime Minister are unavailable. An acting Prime Minister is required quite frequently – for instance, between 3 December 2007 and 23 February 2009 (during Kevin Rudd's first term), Julia Gillard acted as Prime