Wayne Swan

Who is Wayne Swan?

Wayne Maxwell Swan is an Australian politician who was the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and the Deputy Leader of the Labor Party from 2010 to 2013, and the Treasurer of Australia from 2007 to 2013.

Swan was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1993 for Lilley in Queensland, although he lost this seat in 1996. He regained the seat in 1998 and has represented it ever since. Following Labor's victory in 2007, Swan was appointed Treasurer of Australia by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. On 24 June 2010, when Julia Gillard became Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the Labor Party following the resignation of Kevin Rudd, Swan was elected unopposed to become Deputy Leader of the Labor Party, and was subsequently sworn in as the 14th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.

Following a leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party held in June 2013, during which Kevin Rudd replaced Julia Gillard as Labor Leader, Swan resigned from all of his positions and returned to the backbench.