Canberra, May 23 (IANS): Anthony Albanese, leader of Australia’s Labor Party, was sworn in on Monday as the country’s 31st Prime Minister following his victory in the May 21 federal election.
Albanese, joined by members of his leadership team, on Monday morning visited the Government House in Canberra where Governor-General David Hurley officially swore him in as the Prime Minister, reports Xinhua news agency.
Albanese’s Labor Party defeated former Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his coalition in the federal election, ending the coalition’s hold on power for nearly nine years.
Richard Marles was sworn in as the Minister for Employment and Deputy Prime Minister, Penny Wong as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jim Chalmers as the Treasurer and Katy Gallagher as the Minister for Finance and Minister for Women and Attorney-General.
Albanese fast-tracked the swearing-in ceremony to allow himself and Wong to fly to Tokyo later on Monday to meet the leaders of the US, Japan and India as well as their foreign ministers, and join the Quad) summit with on Tuesday.
In a statement, Albanese said: “The Quad Leaders’ Summit brings together four leaders of great liberal democracies – Australia, Japan, India, and the United States of America – in support of a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific.”
Marles will serve as the Acting Prime Minister until Albanese’s return.
This is Australia’s first Labor government in almost a decade.
The party has won 72 lower house seats but counting continues to determine whether they can get the 76 needed to form a majority.
