Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard took charge of government yesterday in the absence of the Prime Minister, becoming the first woman to run the country in its 106 years as an independent nation.
Ms Gillard, 46, will lead the government for just 60 hours while Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is in Bali for the United Nations climate conference.
"I'll just be trying to make sure that I'm minding the store while Kevin's away," Ms Gillard told Australian television, marking the occasion by doing the interview from the Prime Minister's private courtyard at parliament.
Ms Gillard's stint as Acting Prime Minister is being seen as a milestone for Australian women, with Sydney's Daily Telegraph previewing the event on its front page and the Sydney Morning Herald headlining the moment as "One for the girls: Julia grabs the Baton and marches into history".
Under the Westminster system of government, the deputy prime minister usually takes charge and manages emergencies that may crop up while the Prime Minister is overseas or on holidays and unable to attend meetings with the cabinet or head of state.
Tim Fischer, deputy to former conservative Prime Minister John Howard for almost four years, said being acting Prime Minister added some colour to the job, but was not always that exciting or busy. "What happens is you get a policeman come to sit at your door, which you don't normally have," Mr Fischer told Reuters.
Mr Fischer, a farmer, ran the government when Mr Howard was overseas or on official leave, often from his property near the tiny country town of Boree Creek, or by mobile phone while trekking around Australia's alpine mountains.
"It is not a great deal busier unless there is some fast-breaking news that has to be handled," he said. Ms Gillard is Australia's new Education and Workplace Relations Minister under Mr Rudd, who won power on November 24, ending 11-and-a-half-years of conservative government.
Like one-in-four Australians, Ms Gillard was born overseas. Originally from Wales, Ms Gillard and her family moved to Australia when she was four years old. From Labour's left faction, she was a lawyer before she won a seat in Parliament in 1998.
Mr Fischer said he had sent his best wishes to Ms Gillard for her first stint as acting Prime Minister, but warned she would know her time in charge was over when the police body guards suddenly switched their attention back to Mr Rudd.
"You just know when the Prime Minister is due back," he said. "You might be in the middle of a large and sticky meeting, and suddenly the federal police will stand up and walk out."