Julia Gillard made the first woman Prime Minister of Australia in the year Julia Eileen Gillard is an Australian former politician who served as the 27 th Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 2010 to She was previously the 13 th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 until 2010 and held the cabinet positions of Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion from 2007 to She was the first and to date only woman to hold the positions of Deputy Prime Minister, Prime Minister and leader of a major party in Australia.