Australia get its first female prime minister

Posted By P.J. Aroon Thursday, June 24, 2010 - 7:32 PM Share

It's a big day in women's history today: Australia just got its first female prime minister!

After Kevin Rudd stepped down as prime minister, Julia Gillard stepped up. She said she was "truly honored" to be prime minister and said to reporters:

"I think if there's one girl who looks at the TV screen over the next few days and says 'Gee, I might like to do that in the future,' well that's a good thing."

She also said today:

"I'm aware I'm the first woman to sit in this role, but I didn't set out to crash my head against any glass ceilings."

She may not have set out to break any glass ceilings, but she has. Secretary Clinton -- who famously said her supporters helped put "18 million cracks" in the "highest, hardest glass ceiling" during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary campaign -- must be very happy for Gillard.

Clinton will be visiting Australia for defense talks sometime at the end of the year, and husband Bill Clinton will be visiting in November to talk about disadvantaged women and children at the Asian Pacific Global Issues Forum. It's not known whether their visits will overlap.

Scott Barbour/Getty Images

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