| Thérèse Rein | |
|---|---|
| Spouse of the 26th Prime Minister of Australia |
|
| In office 3 December 2007 – 24 June 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Janette Howard |
| Succeeded by | Tim Mathieson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 July 1958 Adelaide, South Australia |
| Spouse(s) | Kevin Rudd |
| Children | Jessica, Nicholas and Marcus Rudd |
| Alma mater | Australian National University |
| Occupation | [Social entrepreneur], Rehabilitation counsellor |
| Religion | Anglican |
Thérèse Rein ( /təˈreɪz ˈreɪn/)[1] (born 17 July 1958) is an Australian entrepreneur and founder of Ingeus, an international employment and business psychology services company. Ingeus operates from more than 150 locations across the UK, Australia, France, Switzerland, Germany, Korea, Sweden, Poland, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and New Zealand, and has over 1,700 employees. Ingeus is now the largest provider of employment services in the UK following the introduction of the Work Programme.
Thérèse is the wife of Kevin Rudd, who held office as Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. She was the first Australian Prime Minister's wife to remain in the paid workforce while her husband was in office.[2] She was awarded the Human Rights Medal by the Australian Human Rights Commission in December 2010 for her long-term dedication to human rights, especially the rights of people with disability.
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Rein was born on 17 July 1958 in Adelaide, South Australia. 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.[3] 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 in Canberra and received an honours degree in psychology. There she met Kevin Rudd. They married in 1981. They have three children: Jessica (born 1983), Nicholas (born 1986) and Marcus (born 1993).
In 2011 Rein's company Ingeus gained a contract from the UK Conservative government worth 23% of £3billion, equalling £690million. This contract is to support the outsourcing of the 'Work Program' from the Jobcentres. This contact has widely been brought into question by the UK Labour party, and other work support agencies, as it is claimed that they used unfair knowledge and tactics to gain the contract, and also asks questions into the funds given in support to the Employment Minister Chris Grayling that may have resulted in the contract being given unfairly and unethically, that still needs to go through a full investigation.Source
However, the DWP has since rubbished claims made by Labour that Mr. Grayling had broken the ministerial code when he announced the winners of the Work Programme Scheme. Labour MP John Robertson had written to the Prime Minister David Cameron and the Cabinet Secretary Gus O' Donnell about his "grave doubts" on whether ministerial code of conduct was adhered to.
The DWP responded in a statement said that Mr. Grayling was not personally involved in the decision to award 23 percent of the Work Programme contract to Ingeus Deloitte, a company which had provided staff to Mr. Grayling's office in 2009.
"All commercial decisions were made through a clear governance process and the evaluation was conducted in accordance with our disclosed process. Our processes our in accordance with best practice across public sector procurement," the spokesperson said. ""The procurement was undertaken by qualified (CIPS) and experienced procurement professionals. There was extensive internal and external assurance exercises undertaken throughout the procurement process." Source
Thérèse Rein has a strong involvement in charity work and is patron of the following organisations:
The Australian Common Ground Alliance; a national housing coalition developing a housing model to end chronic homelessness in Australia.
Unicef Maternal and Infant Health Campaign; to improve maternal and infant mortality through provision of essential maternity and basic healthcare services.
The Indigenous Literacy Foundation; provides reading materials to increase literacy to remote indigenous communities.
OzHarvest Food Rescue; using excess food from the hospitality industry to feed the vulnerable.
Ability First Australia; a national body of leading disability organisations working to achieve a fair go for Australians living with a disability.
Arts Project Australia; an inspirational studio in Melbourne for artists with cognitive disabilities.
The Bella Program at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; which delivers art experiences to kids from disadvantaged backgrounds or with disabilities.
ACT Junior Talent Squad for Athletes with a Disability.
'Shakespeare on Oxford’ Festival at Bulimba, in her local area in Brisbane.
She is also an honorary member of the Board of the International Paralympic Committee.
Rein and Shine, by Wilmoth, Peter; Sunday Life Magazine, 27 May 2007.
"Rudd walks daughter down the aisle". AAP/The Age. 5 May 2007. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/05/05/1177788454802.html. Retrieved 2007-11-25.;
Merrit, Chris (30 January 2007). "Ms Rudd follows Ms Howard ... it's the law". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,21139500-2702,00.html. Retrieved 2007-11-25.;
Carmel Egan (3 December 2006). "Kevin Rudd". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/12/02/1164777852646.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1. Retrieved 2007-10-26.;
"Kevin Rudd – Member for Griffith". Australian Labor Party. http://alp.org.au/people/qld/rudd_kevin.php. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
Annabel Crabb (18 July 2009). "The lady of The Lodge: demystifying the PM's wife". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-lady-of-the-lodge-demystifying-the-pms-wife-20090717-do8j.html. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
Kerry O'Brien (28 October 2009). "Therese Rein - passionate advocate for the disabled". The 7.30 Report, ABC. http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2009/s2726856.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
Daniel Street (5 August 2009). "PM's wife a champion of the poor". Nine News. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/846434/opinion-pms-wife-a-champion-of-the-poor. Retrieved 2010-11-08.