Julia Gillard

Julia Gillard's career has been dedicated to improving access to quality education and healthcare, and empowering women to take up positions of leadership across all areas of society. She was the 27th Prime Minister of Australia (2010-13) and is now Chair of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation which supports research to transform health with particular emphasis on climate change, infectious disease and mental health.

As Prime Minister of Australia, Gillard delivered nation-changing policies, including the reform of education, emissions trading, and the provision and sustainability of healthcare. Mental health was a priority for her administration. She was the first woman to serve as Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister in Australia. She has written two books about women in leadership and a life in public service: a memoir My Story (Random House) was published in 2014 and in 2020, she published her second book, Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons (MIT Press), which she co-authored with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Gillard is Patron of the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED). She is the Inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London and Chair of Beyond Blue, a mental health charity in Australia.

Born in Wales, Gillard lived there as a child until her family moved to Adelaide, South Australia. She holds degrees in law and arts from the University of Melbourne. She qualified as a solicitor with global law firm Slater & Gordon where she focused on employment law, securing fairer treatment for workers. After six years as a partner within the law firm, she began a full-time political career as Chief of Staff to a former Premier of Victoria, Australia, where she created opportunities for women within the party to take up political positions. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998 and she became Deputy Prime Minister in 2007.