Thérèse Rein
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| Thérèse Rein | |
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Spouse of the 26th Prime Minister of Australia
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 3 December 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Janette Howard |
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| Born | 17 July 1958 Adelaide, South Australia |
| Spouse(s) | Kevin Rudd |
| Children | Jessica, Nicholas and Marcus Rudd |
| Alma mater | Australian National University |
| Occupation | Business magnate, Psychologist |
| Religion | Anglican |
Thérèse Rein (pronounced /təˈreɪz ˈreɪn/)[1] (born 17 July 1958) is an Australian businesswoman and the wife of the 26th Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd. She is the founder of the Australian employment agency Ingeus, and the first Australian Prime Minister's wife to remain in the paid workforce while her husband is in office.[2] She is also the first Prime Minister's wife who has never used her husband's surname. She has an estimated net worth of $60m.[3]
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[edit] Early life
Rein was born on 17 July 1958. Her father, John Rein, was a RAAF navigator who had suffered severe spinal cord damage during a plane crash. He later became an aeronautical engineer and represented Australia as a paralympian, his achievements playing a pivotal role in inspiring his daughter.[4] He met his future wife Elizabeth at a rehabilitation hospital in Sydney where she was working as the head of physiotherapy.
Rein attended St. Peter's Collegiate Girls' School in Adelaide and Firbank Grammar School in Melbourne. She studied arts at the Australian National University and received an honours degree in psychology. There she met Kevin Rudd at a meeting of the Australian Student Christian Movement. Rein is an Anglican, and although Rudd was brought up as a Roman Catholic he later attended Anglican services.[5] They married in 1981.
[edit] Business career
In 1986 she worked part-time as a rehabilitation counsellor, primarily helping people get back into the workforce.[6] In 1988 she founded Thérèse Rein and Associates, later Ingeus. This international employment services agency assists jobseekers, in particular long-term unemployed people, enter the workforce. Along with many others, Ingeus has taken on the role after the Howard Government abolished Commonwealth Employment Service (CES), whose functions passed into the private sector.[7]
In 2005 Ingeus had revenues of $175 million and employed 1300 people in 66 offices in Australia, Britain, France and Germany. It was the third-largest provider of services to the Australian federal Government's Job Network agency.[8]
Other board members of Ingeus include Mike Codd (former federal public service head and current Qantas board member), Barrie Adams (former Australian Securities and Investments Commission Queensland regional commissioner) and prominent business leader Jim Kennedy.[8] Prominent Sydney businessman David Gonski AC is the current chair of INGEUS.
Before her husband's rise to the leadership of the Australian Labor Party Rein stepped down as chairwoman of the board of Ingeus and divested all internal personal involvement within the company for the Australian section of the company so that she could provide more support for her husband and party in the lead up to the 2007 election. She said that they had previously supported her career by jointly borrowing money against their house for the start up capital of Thérèse Rein and Associates.[8]
In May 2007 it was widely reported that her company had underpaid workers through shifting them onto individual common law employment contracts.[9] As she was overseas at the time, Kevin Rudd replied that the underpayment had been an honest mistake. After considerable public embarrassment, the money was repaid to the workers.[10] The Office of Workplace Services completed an audit and found no further action was necessary. After her return to Australia she made the decision to sell the Australian arm of her business to avoid any conflict of interest issues that may arise should her husband become prime minister.[11]
[edit] Charitable foundation
In 2007 Rein established the Rein Foundation to promote establishment of small businesses as pathways to lasting independence for long-term unemployed and disabled people but since closed the foundation in order to avoid perceived conflicts of interest once her husband became Prime Minister.[4]
[edit] Patronages
Thérèse Rein is patron of a number of organisations in Australia including: The Australian Common Ground Alliance (ACGA) - A national housing coalition developing a housing model to end chronic homelessness in Australia; the Indigenous Literacy Project which provides reading materials to increase literacy to remote indigenous communities; Common Ground (Australia), ; and the Australian National Portrait Gallery; Ability First Australia, the National Disability Awards,ACT Junior Talent Squad for Athletes with a Disability. She is an honorary member of the Board of the International Paralympic Committee. She also has an interest in maternal and infant health and is patron of UNICEF Australia's maternal and child health campaign. Ms Rein is Children's Champion for the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN).
[edit] Sources
Rein and Shine, by Wilmoth, Peter; Sunday Life Magazine, 27 May 2007.
[edit] References
- ^ Toohey, Paul (13 February 2007). "Meet Mrs Rudd". The Bulletin. http://thebulletinelection.ninemsn.com.au/meet_mrs_rudd.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-25. "She's long insisted on spelling her name Thérèse... Her Burgmann file shows that someone has hand-penned in the acute (é) and the grave (è) above typed spellings of her name." Nevertheless, these accents do not indicate that she uses the usual French pronunciation associated with this spelling (/te'rɛz/), rather she favours an Anglicised pronunciation.
- ^ Profile: Kevin Rudd | World news | guardian.co.uk
- ^ Matthew Franklin, Patricia Karvelas (10 March 2009). "Bishop joins attack on Rudd ideals", Retrieved on 2009-03-23
- ^ a b Mann, Simon; Kate Askew (24 April 2007). "The thing about Therese". The Age. p. 9. http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/the-thing-about-therese/2007/04/23/1177180562164.html. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
- ^ Marriner, Cosima (9 December 2006). "The lonely road to the top". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 33. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-lonely-road-to-the-top/2006/12/08/1165081157750.html. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
- ^ Fraser, Andrew (24 May 2007). "Rise of Rein's company". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21786418-601,00.html. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
- ^ Scutt, Jocelynne (29 May 2007). "Sexism in politics, or just politics?". http://www.onlineopinion.com.au. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5915. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
- ^ a b c Fraser, Andrew (23 December 2006). "Wife winds back day job to prepare for election". The Australian. p. 6.
- ^ Marris, Sid; Ewin Hannan (26 May 2007). "Award conditions bought for 45c an hour". The Australian. p. 8. http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,21796581-462,00.html. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
- ^ Shanahan, Dennis (26 May 2007). "Tough choice for Rudd and Rein". The Australian. p. 25. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21797016-5007146,00.html. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
- ^ "Rein to sell business". Australian Associated Press. 26 May 2007. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/therese-rein-defends-life-support/2007/05/26/1179601711711.html. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
