Thérèse Virginia Rein (born 17 July 1958) is an Australian entrepreneur who is the founder of Ingeus, an international employment and business psychology services company. Rein is

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

, who was the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

, holding the office from 2007 to 2010 and then again in 2013. She was the first Australian prime minister's wife to remain in the paid workforce while her husband was in office. She was awarded the Human Rights Medal by the

Australian Human Rights Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of the Commonwealth of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body fu ...

in December 2010 for her long-term dedication to human rights, especially the rights of people with disability. This was a point of contention as Rein's husband was prime minister during the period of the award's consideration; she was, however, awarded the medal following her husband's deposal. In December 2012, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of the University degree by

Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

for her services to business, and the award of

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(honoris causa) by the

University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus public research university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university in its current form was founde ...

in April 2014, in recognition of her service to the Australian community, commitment to human rights, engaging constructively with human rights mechanisms, eliminating poverty and injustice, and the illumination of disadvantage. In 2018, she was inducted into the

Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame The Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame recognises a set of the leaders in business and social development in Queensland, Australia. Inclusion in the hall of fame can be of individual people (living or dead), groups of people, and organisat ...

Early life

Rein was born on 17 July 1958 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia. Her father, John Rein, was a

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

navigator who had suffered severe spinal cord damage during a plane crash. He later became an

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

and represented Australia at the 1957 Stoke Mandeville Games as a member of Australia's first ever international disability sports team, and the first Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Perth, in 1962, where he won gold medals in the Columbia Round of Archery and the Dartchery teams event. His achievements played a pivotal role in inspiring his daughter. He met his future wife Elizabeth at a rehabilitation hospital in Sydney where she was working as the head of

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

. Rein attended

St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School St Peter's Girls' School (commonly known as Saints Girls) is an independent Anglican early learning, primary and secondary day school for girls located in the Adelaide suburb of Stonyfell, in South Australia, Australia. Founded in 1894 a ...

in Adelaide and Firbank Grammar School in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. She studied psychology, linguistics and English at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

and received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

with honours in psychology in 1980, and a Master of Psychology (Qualifying) degree in 1981. There she met

, as both of them lived at Burgmann College during their first year of university and were members of the Student Christian Movement. The pair married in 1981 soon after graduation, before moving offshore for envoy-in-training Rudd to study diplomacy in Sweden and China. In 1986, they returned to Australia, where Rein set up the company Work Directions, now named Ingeus, to help people injured at work find employment. They have three children: Jessica (born 1983), Nicholas (born 1986) and Marcus (born 1993).

Business career

In 1986, she worked part-time as a rehabilitation counsellor, primarily helping people get back into the workforce. In 1988, she founded Thérèse Rein and Associates, later Ingeus. This international employment services agency assists jobseekers, in particular long-term unemployed people, enter the workforce. The chairman of Ingeus is

David Gonski David Michael Gonski (born 1953) is an Australian public figure, corporate lawyer, and businessman. He is best known for his recommendations on funding education in Australia, schools in Australia, in a document known as the Gonski Report (or ...

AC, a prominent business leader based in Sydney. Other directors include Rein, Garry Hounsell and Greg Ashmead. The sale of the Australian arm of Ingeus took place in May 2007 to ensure there was no perceived conflict of interest as her husband, Kevin Rudd was the Leader of the Opposition (and later the Prime Minister of Australia). The Australian businesses sold in October and December 2007. Ingeus re-entered the Australian market with the acquisition of Assure Programs in October 2011.

UK government contract

In 2011, Ingeus UK was awarded 23 percent of the Work Programme contract by the UK Government. Some speculation has ensued regarding funds purported to have been given in support to the employment minister,

Chris Grayling Christopher Stephen Grayling, Baron Grayling, (born 1 April 1962), is a British politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Justice from 2012 to 2015, Leader of the House of Commons from 2015 to 2016 and Secretary of State for T ...

. The DWP responded in a statement said that Grayling was not personally involved in the decision to award the Work Programme contract to Ingeus UK:

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 procurement was undertaken by qualified (CIPS) and experienced procurement professionals. There was extensive internal and external assurance exercises undertaken throughout the procurement process.

Philanthropy

Rein has a strong involvement in charity work and is patron of the Australian Common Ground Alliance;

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

''Maternal and Infant Health Campaign''; the Indigenous Literacy Foundation; OzHarvest Food rescue; Ability First Australia; Arts Project Australia; ''The Bella Program'' at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; ACT Junior Talent Squad for Athletes with a Disability; ''Shakespeare on Oxford'' Festival at

Bulimba Bulimba is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bulimba had a population of 7,623 people. Geography Bulimba is located north-east of the CBD on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, but it is by road. Top ...

, Brisbane. She is a member of the Honorary Board of the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

References

External links

Ingeus websiteWife of Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia websiteThérèse Rein digital story and oral history: Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame 2018

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...