Rudd's leading Labor. But can he save it? THE moment Kevin Rudd lost the prime ministership he started plotting to get it back. His relentless three-year campaign finally paid off last month, when he retook the Labor leadership from Julia Gillard. But now he faces an even bigger challenge: uniting a divided party and clawing back enough public support to make Labor competitive at an election that's due to be held within months. He's a brilliant campaigner, but can he save Labor from electoral oblivion? Born in the Queensland town of Nambour in 1957, Rudd joined the Australian Labor Party at 15 years of age in 1972. He moved to Canberra three years later to study at the Australian National University and subsequently joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) as a cadet diplomat. After leaving DFAT in 1988, Rudd returned to Queensland to work for state opposition leader and then premier Wayne Goss. He was well on the way to a federal political career - and already earning a reputation as a ruthless control freak. A failed attempt to win the federal electorate of Griffith in 1996 was followed by victory there in 1998. Three years later he hit the Labor frontbench as spokesman for foreign affairs. In December 2006, he took the Labor leadership from Kim Beazley. He and deputy Gillard were dubbed "the dream team." But Rudd and Gillard never really liked each other and their partnership was doomed. Within three and a half years they would be locked in one of the most epic and bitter fights in Australian political history. Rudd won a convincing victory over John Howard in November 2007, ending 11 years of conservative rule. At first, everything seemed great. Rudd remained popular while the coalition was consumed by infighting. But trouble was brewing. Colleagues were frustrated by his tendency to micro-manage and ride roughshod over them. So when Rudd's approval rating started dipping in 2010, caucus started looking for another leader. His decision to pick a fight with the mining companies and shelve his emissions trading scheme sealed his fate. Ms Gillard toppled him on June 24, 2010, and called an election soon after. But a terrible Labor campaign resulted in a hung parliament. Labor stayed in power with the help of crossbench MPs, but Gillard was reluctantly forced to draft Rudd into her frontbench. He made a good foreign minister but his 18 months in the role were overshadowed at every turn by persistent rumours and reports that he was hell bent on getting back to The Lodge. Sure enough, he resigned as foreign minister to challenge Gillard in February 2012. Gillard won a decisive victory. Rudd had already long been the people's choice for leader. But he couldn't convince his caucus colleagues he deserved a second go in the top job and fewer than one-third of Labor MPs backed his bid. After conceding defeat he moved to the backbench and pledged to abandon his ambitions and work hard for Gillard's re-election. But no one really believed him. A farcical, abortive coup attempt instigated by Simon Crean in March this year damaged Rudd's credibility. But within weeks, Gillard's stubbornly disappointing poll numbers put him back in the frame. He took back the leadership on June 26. Now the man once dubbed a "psychopath" by one of his Labor colleague is leading the party once again.