Kevin Rudd was for years the darling of Australian politics before experiencing a rapid decline that saw him dumped as Labour leader in a brutal party-room coup by Julia Gillard in 2010.
With the opposition in disarray, Mr Rudd consistently topped opinion polls in an enduring love affair with the Australian public, until the ardour suddenly cooled in 2010
Relegated from Prime Minister to Foreign Minister, party sources say he never accepted his fate and has always wanted his old job back.
With speculation at fever-pitch this week that he now intends to make his move, Mr Rudd sensationally resigned as the country’s top diplomat in a hastily-convened midnight press conference in Washington, DC.
“The simple truth is that I cannot continue to serve as Foreign Minister if I don’t have Prime Minister Gillard’s support,” he said.
“I therefore believe the only honourable course of action is for me to resign.”
His daughter Jessica immediately tweeted: “Effing proud of you, Dad xxxx”. His wife Therese Rein responded: “Me too, Kevin xxxx”.
In a short written statement Ms Gillard said she was “disappointed that the concerns Mr Rudd has publicly expressed this evening were never personally raised with me, nor did he contact me to discuss his resignation prior to his decision”.
Mr Rudd, who successfully underwent heart surgery last August to replace an aortic valve, heads back to Australia today and make a full statement on his future before Parliament resumes on Monday.
Known for his famous temper Mr Rudd, 54, came from humble beginnings to lead the Labour Party and oust long-time conservative leader John Howard by a landslide in 2007 to become Prime Minister.
The fluent Mandarin speaker promised closer engagement with Asia and wowed voters with a landmark apology to Australia’s Aborigines for their treatment under white rule.
The assured, if bookish, leader unravelled Mr Howard’s harsh immigration policies and kept Australia recession-free throughout the financial crisis, something no other advanced economy achieved.
With the opposition in disarray, Mr Rudd consistently topped opinion polls in an enduring love affair with the Australian public, until the ardour suddenly cooled in 2010 and Ms Gillard pounced.
Mr Rudd endured a tough childhood, forced to temporarily sleep in a car aged 11 when his family was evicted from their Queensland farm following his father’s death in a road accident.
He said that experience shaped the views on social justice that led him to run for federal Parliament, where he was elected in 1998 on his second attempt.
Before arriving in Canberra, he was a senior bureaucrat for the state Labour government in Queensland and had a lengthy career as a diplomat, including postings to Stockholm and Beijing.
Married with three children, his wife Therese is a millionaire businesswoman in her own right – a fact that plays well with female voters.
In November 2007, he and Ms Gillard together brought the Labour Party back to power in a landslide after 12 years in the political wilderness.
The start of Mr Rudd’s downfall can be traced back to December 2009 when an attempt to pass vaunted emissions trading laws ended in embarrassing failure and a new Opposition Leader, the pugnacious Tony Abbott.
An immediate drop in the polls was compounded by a botched home insulation scheme which resulted in workers’ deaths and a series of house fires.
He then announced he had shelved until 2013 plans for the carbon trading scheme aimed at slowing global warming, which he had branded the “greatest moral challenge of our generation”, a move that saw his public support plunge.
Mr Rudd was further savaged in a very public dust-up with the powerful mining industry over plans for a new tax on resources profits – a levy which ultimately led to his political demise as his poll numbers plummeted.
Despite his dumping as Prime Minister, Mr Rudd remains popular with voters, consistently coming out on top as preferred leader ahead of Ms Gillard who is struggling in the polls, with elections due in 2013.
Key events in tussle between Rudd and Gillard
2010
June 23 – Then deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard challenges Kevin Rudd to a leadership ballot as his popularity plunges in the polls following a series of policy missteps including shelving an emissions trading scheme to tackle climate change and a damaging war of words with the powerful mining industry over tax hikes.
June 24 – Ms Gillard goes on to win unopposed, with Mr Rudd declining to contest the ballot. She quickly calls national elections.
August 21 – Ms Gillard’s Labour party fails to win a majority at elections following an uninspiring campaign hit by high-level leaks, prompting Australia’s first electoral deadlock in 70 years.
September 7 – Minority lawmakers throw their support behind Ms Gillard after more than a fortnight of tense negotiations, ensuring Labour’s return to power with a fragile coalition. Ms Gillard later appoints Mr Rudd, formerly a career diplomat, as Foreign Minister.
2011
March 8 – Ms Gillard’s popularity plummets in an influential opinion poll to a record low after she announced plans for a pollution levy, despite pledging there would be no such tax under her government ahead of the election. The move prompts furious protests around the country over the coming months.
August 31 – Australia’s High Court strikes down Ms Gillard’s refugee swap deal with Malaysia, seen as a solution to the inflammatory issue of boatpeople, forcing Labour to scrap offshore processing and release refugees into the community.
November 8 – Labour finally passes its controversial emissions reduction scheme but fails to make any headway in the polls. Mr Rudd consistently places ahead of Ms Gillard as preferred leader with voters.
2012
February – Speculation steadily mounts that Mr Rudd is preparing to challenge Ms Gillard for the top job as Labor continues to haemorrhage in the polls and open divisions emerge within the party over the leadership.
February 22 – Mr Rudd resigns as Foreign Minister in a dramatic midnight press conference in Washington and says he is returning home to consider his future.