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TRANSCRIPT:
Kevin Rudd was appointed Australian ambassador the U-S in March 2023 and was due to end his tenure next year.
Instead, he will bow out a year early on the 31st of March, in a move announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, alongside Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
"He's always brought an extraordinary level of energy and discipline to public service. He's applied his relentless effort, his experience and his intellect and his determination to advance Australian interests in Washington, and Kevin Rudd has served the nation well."
Prime Minister Albanese praised Dr Rudd's ability to develop deep relationships across the political spectrum.
Under his tenure, Australia secured a $13 billion critical minerals deal with the US, and advanced the AUKUS security pact which will include the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.
"As Prime Minister, I have visited the United States on no less than seven occasions. That is because of the productive work that Kevin Rudd has done across the board, including particularly advancing the economic relationship between our two nations, but also, of course, ensuring that AUKUS is able to proceed."
Dr Rudd is credited with helping achieve the return of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to Australia, ending a years-long legal battle on espionage charges.
Penny Wong also applauded him for boosting U-S investment in Australian firms.
"Kevin's helped unlock billions of dollars in new investment and collaboration, including AI data centres and quantum in sectors that will strengthen the Australian economy and our security for decades to come. And he's put Australia's superannuation industry on the map with the United States, turbocharging U-S engagement and investment."
But his past comments about the US President remained a sore point.
Before becoming ambassador, Dr Rudd had labelled Mr Trump a "traitor to the West" on social media and criticised him in an online interview with an Indian politician.
"The United States for the last four years has been run by a village idiot."
Leading to a tense exchange in the Oval Office when the Prime Minister visited President Trump in October.
"Trump: Where is he, is still working for you
(Laughter, He's right here)
Trump: "Did you say bad?"
Rudd: "Before I took this position Mr President,"
Trump: "I don't like you either. I probably never will."
Dr Rudd is stepping down to become the global president of the Asia Society and lead its Centre for China Analysis.
Prime Minister Albanese insists Dr Rudd's departure is his own choice, and not based on his relationship with Donald Trump.
"I think that one of the things about President Trump is that he looks forward on these issues and the relationship that Kevin has had with members of the Trump administration, whoever follows Kevin. If it's as good as that, I'll be pretty happy."
Kevin Rudd's resignation marks the effective end of his public life, to which he aspired from the age of 15, when he wrote to then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam asking for advice on how to become a diplomat and received a suggestion from the nation's leader that he study Asian languages.
He was elected to federal parliament as the Labor member for Griffith in Brisbane in 1998, becoming leader of the Opposition just two years later.
In 2007, he led Labor to a rousing victory, ending 11 years of Coalition rule.
He quickly ratified the Kyoto protocol to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and in February 2008 delivered a historic apology to the Stolen Generations at Parliament House.
"As Prime Minister of Australia, I am sorry. "
He impressed international leaders with his fluent Mandarin, welcoming the Chinese president to Sydney for the APEC conference in 2007.
"President Hu, may I wish you and your party every success in Australia, and I join the Prime Minister in welcoming your gift of pandas to Australia."
He steered Australia through the Global Financial Crisis and overturned his successor John Howard's unpopular industrial relations laws.
But his popularity plummeted when it came to addressing an issue he had campaigned passionately on.
"Climate Change is the great moral challenge of our generation."
Abandoning legislation for a carbon emissions trading scheme when he failed to gain bipartisan support.
Amid rumours of a chaotic and controlling management style, he faced a shock leadership coup in June 2010 and stood down to make way for his deputy Julia Gillard.
He was given the role of Foreign Minister, and in 2023 he was re-elected as party leader, becoming Prime Minister once again.
"Rightly or wrongly, Julia has lost the trust of the Australian people, and starting on Monday, I want to start restoring that trust."
Three months later, he was defeated by Coalition leader Tony Abbott at the election and retired from parliament soon after.
In the years that followed, he published two autobiographies and two books examining the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as receiving a PhD from Oxford University - making him, as the Prime Minister notes, well suited to a future in policy analysis and research.
"Kevin is regarded as perhaps the world's most eminent and sought after expert on China and China US relations."
In a statement, Dr Rudd says it has been an honour to serve as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, and that he will continue work on the future of USChina relations.
