Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard attend the Labor Party conference at Darling Harbour in Sydney in this July 30, 2009 file photo. Rudd, under threat of election defeat later this year, faced a possible leadership challenge on June 23, 2010 from disgruntled ruling-party lawmakers, Sky TV reported, quoting unnamed sources. Senior Labor government ministers, including Gillard who has been tipped as a successor to Rudd, were meeting with the prime minister in his office, Sky TV said. Picture taken July 30, 2009.[Agencies]

Australia's new Prime Minister Julia Gillard reacts at a news conference after a leadership ballot at Federal Parliament House in Canberra June 24, 2010. Gillard became Australia's first female prime minister on Thursday when Kevin Rudd stepped down, as the Labor government sought to avoid election defeat later this year by changing leaders.[Agencies]