Kevin Rudd, leader of the Australian Labor Party, has been sworn in by Australian Governor-General Michael Jeffery as the country's 26th prime minister.

 

 

Rudd replaces John Howard, who had been prime minister since 1996.

 

The ceremony at Government House in Canberra on Monday came nine days after the Labor party defeated the Liberal-National Coalition in last month's federal election.

 

The new government, which includes 20 cabinet ministers, 10 outer ministers and 12 parliamentary secretaries, will hold a full ministerial meeting in Parliament House after the swearing-in.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said cabinet would meet twice before Christmas.

 

"The first (meeting) will consider a cabinet submission about our computers in schools policy, our billion-dollar plan to make sure students from years nine to 12 will have access to computers," Gillard was quoted by Australian Associated Press as saying.

 

"And then the second cabinet meeting will start work on our trades training in schools policy. So two big promises for the education revolution will have their work start before Christmas," she said.

 

Meanwhile, climate-change and ratification of Kyoto Protocol will be high on the agenda of the new government's first cabinet meeting.

 

Rudd is hoping the ratification process will be well advanced by the time he arrives in Bali, Indonesia, later this week for the next round of post-Kyoto discussions.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 3, 2007)