Mr Kevin Rudd, whose Labor Party swept to victory in Australian elections, said his government would start work immediately on an education revolution, rebuilding the hospital system, address the ‘great challenges of climate change and water, building ‘a 21st century infrastructure for a 21st century economy’.
Australia’s new prime minister-designate, Rudd praised his predecessor John Howard for his contribution to public life, whose Coalition government remained in power for more than a decade. More here…
(Photo above is of Kevin Rudd (L) and John Howard courtesy the BBC.) The BBC site has Australian poll pictures.
Click here for the facts regarding Australian elections 2007.
Who is Kevin Rudd? “Born in September 1957 in the coastal hinterland north of Brisbane, Kevin Michael Rudd lost his father – a farmer – at the age of 11. Apparently facing eviction from the farm and with nowhere else to go, his mother, Margaret, was forced to sleep overnight in a car with two of her four young children…”
For Rudd’s complete profile please click here…
The Guardian has this to say about Australia’s new prime minister: “Australia’s new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, has been described as an antipodean close relative of Tony Blair, sharing the former British leader’s fervent Christian beliefs as well as the unwavering conviction that he has the personal vision to take his country forward. Like Blair, he will not be a traditional Labor prime minister and seems likely to run a government that is almost as conservative as his predecessor’s, distancing himself from the unions and the more radical members of the party.
“The 50-year-old is married to Therese Rein a self-made millionaire and working mother of three who owns a recruitment business. She will be the first Australian prime minister’s wife to keep working while her husband is in office.”
The Telegraph has an irreverent profile of Rudd: “Nibbling one’s ear wax and spending a boozy night in a strip joint could be expected, in normal circumstances, to spell disaster for a politician.” More here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.