In 1996, she became chief of staff to John Brumby, the Leader of the Opposition in Victoria. In 1987, Gillard joined the law firm Slater & Gordon, eventually becoming a partner in 1990, specialising in industrial law.
During this time, she was president of the Australian Union of Students from 1983 to 1984. Gillard went on to study at the University of Adelaide, but switched to the University of Melbourne in 1982, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1986 and a Bachelor of Arts in 1989. She attended Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. She is the first and only female prime minister in Australian history.īorn in Barry, Wales, Gillard migrated with her family to Adelaide in South Australia in 1966. She held office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Julia Eileen Gillard AC (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. Manager of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives