Kevin Rudd's resignation as foreign minister is the latest twist in his colourful career in the Labor Party.

In 2010 he became the first Labor prime minister to be ousted in the first term.

Now - if he chooses to quit the party altogether - he could trigger a by-election which could topple the fragile minority Government.

Here is a timeline of his career.

1998

Kevin Michael Rudd elected to federal Parliament in the seat of Griffith. His previous attempt at contenting Griffith in 1996 had failed. Before entering Parliament, Mr Rudd had been a diplomat and a senior official in the Queensland government. While working as chief of staff for Queensland premier Wayne Goss, Mr Rudd earned a reputation for being a micro-manager.

2001

Mr Rudd was handed his most coveted opposition portfolio, foreign affairs. He was also opposition spokesman for international security in 2003 and for trade in 2005.

2005 - 2006

It was as opposition foreign affairs spokesman that Mr Rudd became a rising star in Labor. He rose to power in the AWB kickbacks affair, one of Australia's biggest corruption scandals. Mr Rudd's dogged pursuit of AWB gave him the profile to later run for Labor leadership.

November 2006

Grumblings in the Labor leadership began. Rudd's factional colleague and then-Labor leader, Kim Beazley, had won the leadership from Simon Crean. At that same time, a Newspoll showed voter support for Rudd was double that of Beazley.

December 2006

Mr Rudd became the Australian Labor Party's 19th leader in a caucus ballot. He was elected leader with 49 votes to 39 for Beazley. Julia Gillard was elected deputy leader unopposed.

November 2007

Mr Rudd led Labor to the polls, promising change, and successfully ousted long-term prime minister John Howard.

December 2007

Mr Rudd was sworn in as Australia's 26th prime minister.

February 2008

Mr Rudd kicked off the prime ministership by delivering on the change he had promised, starting with the Stolen Generations apology - a move that saw him become the most popular Labor leader in Newspoll history. For two years, Mr Rudd enjoyed sky-high popularity ratings despite earlier embarrassments with the failure of the GroceryWatch and FuelWatch schemes.

Voters also approved of Mr Rudd's handling of the global financial crisis as Australia stayed out of recession with billions of stimulus dollars flowing though the economy.

December 2009

Things turned pear-shaped for Mr Rudd following the UN climate talks in Copenhagen. World leaders failed to secure a binding agreement at the talks, instead opting for a non-binding accord which relies on countries setting their own emissions targets.

February 2010

The $2.45 billion home insulation program was scrapped after being linked to four deaths and more than 100 house fires.

April 2010

Showing a clear failure to deliver on his environment promises, Mr Rudd - who once described global warming as the "greatest moral, economic and environmental challenges of our age" - dumped the emissions trading scheme in April, leading to a massive drop in voter support. His autocratic leadership style led to criticisms about him running the Government by "kitchen cabinet" and his "gang of four" came to the forefront.

April 2010

Mr Rudd's decision to suspend asylum seeker claims from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan was criticised as "redneck" policy on immigration.

June 2010

With the Federal Government's primary vote reaching record lows and its battle with the miners overshadowing all other messages, Ms Gillard - backed by factional Labor warlords - made a tilt at Mr Rudd's leadership. Factional support for Mr Rudd collapsed and the Australian Workers Union (AWU) threw its support behind Ms Gillard.

June 23, 2010

Knowing he will be defeated if he contests Ms Gillard, Mr Rudd quits as Labor leader and stands down as prime minister.

Sorry, this video has expired Kevin Rudd's June 2010 press conference announcing he will stand down as PM

August 21, 2010

Mr Rudd successfully contests his Queensland seat of Griffith in the 2010 federal election.

September 14, 2010

Mr Rudd is appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs by the Gillard Government. In his time as foreign minister he denounced the publication of classified documents by WikiLeaks. He was a vocal critic of violent crackdowns in the Middle East during the Arab Spring, backing a no-fly zone over Libya and calling for change in Syria.

2011 - 2012

Rumours abound of a major rift between Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd. Mr Rudd declares he is a "happy little vegemite" as foreign minister, however rumours of a leadership spill refuse to abate.

February 19, 2012

A video is leaked of Mr Rudd swearing during the recording of a speech in his time as prime minister. Ms Gillard denies her office is responsible for the leak.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 38 seconds 38 s Rudd swearing in leaked video ( ABC News )

February 20, 2012

Speculation grows that there will be a leadership challenge when the Labor caucus meets in a week's time.

Sorry, this video has expired Should Gillard initiate a leadership vote? ( Barrie Cassidy )

February 22, 2012

Kevin Rudd resigns as foreign minister, saying he cannot stay in the position without the support of the Prime Minister.