Premier
On 3 December 2009 Keneally won a party room ballot against Premier Nathan Rees with a majority of 45–21, gaining the support of the dominant right faction of the Labor Party caucus. Prior to the vote, Nathan Rees declared "Should I not be Premier at the end of this day, let there be no doubt in the community's mind that any challenger would be a puppet of Eddie Obeid and Joe Tripodi", a claim later rejected by Keneally, who stated "I am nobody's puppet, I am nobody's protege, I am nobody's girl."
On 4 December 2009 Keneally was sworn in as the 42nd (and first female) premier of New South Wales by the State Governor, Marie Bashir. For the first time in Australian history, both the Premier and Deputy Premier of a state were women.
- See also: Keneally ministry
Read more about this topic: Kristina Keneally