Why did Kevin Rudd become prime minister?

Answer 1

Kevin Rudd is Prime Minister of Australia because he is the leader of the Labor Party, which won the largest number of seats in the last General Election in the Lower House, the House of Representatives, of the Australian Parliament. The Australian Parliament is founded in the Westminster system, in which the Government (the Executive Branch) is formed out of the party, or parties working in coalition, that have enough seats to control the majority of the House of Representatives (the Legislative Branch).

While Australia's Parliament is something of a hybrid between the Westminster and American systems, the Prime Minister is still determined by the House of Representatives, with the leader of the controlling party or coalition becoming Prime Minister and remaining so until 1) the next election mandate in 3 years, or earlier if called by the Prime Minister 2) a vote of no confidence or the failure to pass a money bill or 3) a loss of seats through death, resignation, etc. that causes the governing party or coalition to lose its majority (although this factor does not automatically require a fresh election). Also, the Australian Governor-General, the Queen's representative in Australia, in theory may remove a Prime Minister from office for any reason. This has only happened once in the Great Dismissal Crisis of 1975, when Governor General Sir John Kerr dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and his Labor government despite Labor having a small majority in the House. This resulted in a massive Constitutional Crisis and will probably never happen again without one of the above accepted reasons also being present. Prime Minister Rudd and his Labor Government replaced the long serving Liberal-National coalition of Prime Minister John Howard after handing them a stunning electoral defeat (this combination is commonly referred to in Australia simply as "The Coalition", as these two parties have joined together regularly to form many Governments throughout the nation's history, with the Liberal Party usually the senior partner). Prime Minister Howard became the first sitting Prime Minister since Nationalist Party Prime Minister Stanley Bruce in 1929 to not only lose the Premiership, but also his parliamentary seat to a Labor landslide (Prime Minister Bruce is also the only Australian Prime Minister to leave parliament and later be re-elected).

Answer 2

what did Kevin Rudd achieve as a prime minister