Julia Gillard become chief of staff to John Brumby, the leader of the Labor Party in Victoria. This preceded her own entry into federal politics. Gillard was first elected to the House of Representatives at the 1998 federal election for the seat of Lalor. Following the 2001 election, she was elected to Shadow Cabinet. When Kevin Rudd was elected as party leader and Leader of the Opposition in December 2006, Gillard was elected unopposed as his deputy. Upon Labor's victory at the 2007 election, she became the first female Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, and was made Minister for Education, Minister for
Julia Gillard On 15 February 2011, Gillard made her first trip to New Zealand, during which she met with Key and held a luncheon with business leaders in Auckland. It marked the first New Zealand visit of a prime minister since Howard visited in 2007. To conclude her two-day visit to New Zealand, Gillard travelled to Wellington on 16 February, where she became the first foreign dignitary to address the New Zealand Parliament in its history. In her speech, Gillard reflected on the countries' close ties to one another, their shared defence history, and efforts to increase economic cooperation. Her second visit