Labor has won Australia's Federal Election, making Anthony Albanese the new prime minister across the ditch. So who is this bloke?
Anthony Albanese addressing Labor supporters after winning the election at the Federal Labour Reception in Sydney. Photo:
In achieving his long-held ambition of becoming prime minister Albanese replaces Liberal Scott Morrison and becomes the 31st person to hold Australia's top job.
Albanese was born in 1963 and grew up in Sydney's inner west. Life, by his website's description, wasn't easy.
He was the first person in his family to finish school, let alone university, his website says.
"My mum raised me in public housing as a single parent. In 1963, that was a brave call. Mum's aspiration was that my life would turn out better than hers ...It's this vision that drove my mum when she dreamed of a better life for her son. And it's the vision I want to see realised for my son. It's what drives me to build a better Australia," a quote from his website states.
When he was only 12 years old, he says, he helped to organise a rent strike that kept his mother's public housing property from being sold off to developers - a first step towards the world of politics.
After juggling multiple jobs while studying full time, he graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Economics.
Watch this ABC video profile of Albanese from the start of the campaign:
He got involved in student politics and aged 22, he was elected president of Young Labor, the party's youth wing, and worked as a research officer under the economic reformist government of Bob Hawke, Labor's longest-serving prime minister.
It wasn't until until 1996 that he entered Parliament, elected as the Federal Member for Grayndler - the area he grew up in.
But it was just as Labor entered the first of two decade-long patches in the opposition. The party's time back in power, from 2007 - when he became infrastructure minister - to 2013,when he was appointed deputy prime minister to Kevin Rudd, was marred by leadership squabbles in which he openly criticised both sides.
Those years forged his reputation as a collaborator willing to work outside ideological lines, as Leader of the House where he managed government business in the parliament.
After losses in the 2010 election, Labor was saddled with the country's first minority government in 70 years, requiring it to win support from conservatives or independents to pass laws. But by one measure cited by political commentators - the number of laws passed compared to the number of days in office - it turned out to be Australia's most productive parliament.
"There was an attempt to create chaos, but what Anthony did was to ensure that the work of government proceeded," said Craig Emerson, who was trade minister in that government.
Those who know Albanese say he is genuinely motivated by the mix of pragmatism and concern for social justice he gained during his childhood struggles, such as when he complained to a council man about his mother's broken stove while a teenager.
"It gave me a determination, each and every day, to help the people like I was, growing up, to have a better life," Albanese told the National Press Club in January, recalling how he at times depended on neighbours for food when his mother, who relied on a disability pension, was unable to provide for him.
Anthony Albanese (centre) with his partner Jodie Haydon and his son Nathan Albanese during a reception after winning the election. Photo: AFP / Wendell Teodoro
"Anthony has ... a capacity to look beyond the party political alignment," said Robert Tickner, a former Labor member.
"(He) believes in this idea that there are people of good will in the community," Tickner said in a phone interview. "He's not someone who's a sectarian."
In 2019 he was unanimously elected as the new Labor leader, succeeding Bill Shorten, who failed to oust Scott Morrison.
He says a car crash in early 2021 nearly killed him, and changed his life.
"It made me absolutely determined to make a contribution to the country," he told the ABC.
In preparation for the campaign, he lost 18kg and underwent a major makeover, ABC reported.
"With my son Nathan and our dog Toto, I live 20 minutes down the road from mum's old place. I love my community and I'm proud to represent them in our nation's Parliament," his website says.
"My vision is an Australia where everyone has the opportunity to work and enjoys the benefits of a job. But not just any job - good, well-paying jobs that are safe and secure."
The 59-year-old has a son and is divorced but was joined on the campaign trial by his partner Jodie Haydon.
- RNZ with Reuters and ABC