John Courtney (diplomat)

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Charles John Hodgson Courtney (born 1949) has served as Australia's ambassador to Zimbabwe since November 2007.

Courtney was born in Perth, Western Australia and holds the degree of Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Australia and a Graduate Diploma in Public Administration from the University of Canberra. After briefly practising law he joined the Australian diplomatic service in 1975.[1]

He has held a number of overseas postings in Asia and the Middle East, as well as positions in Canberra as director of various sections of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He was First Secretary in Kuala Lumpur from 1982 to 1985, Counsellor in Beijing from 1991 to 1994, and Consul-General in Guangzhou from 1999 to 2002. In Canberra, he has been director of the Speechwriting Section (1995-96), the Indonesia Section (1996-97), the China General and Mongolia Section (1998-99), and the Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Section (-2007).[2]

In August 2007 he was appointed Australian ambassador to Zimbabwe, replacing Jonathan Sheppard, who had served since July 2004.[3] He was initially expected to take office in early October 2007.[4] He did not present his credentials until 22 November 2007, together with James D. McGee for the United States, Sergey Kryukov for Russia, and Luis Cabrera for Mexico.[5] [6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Country that has one continent (special report co-sponsored by Shenzhen Daily and International Division of Foreign Affairs Office of Shenzhen Municipal Government). Shenzhen Daily (2000-01-26). Retrieved on 2007-12-02. “I FELT myself just a Lilliputian when Mr John Courtney, Australian consul-general in Guangzhou, China, was standing besids me. Long-nosed, with deep-set eyes and speaking English, he is no doubt a typical Westerner. But the consul-general surprised my colleagues and me when he was interviewed, saying:" We Australians feel more affiliated to the Asia-Pacific."”
  2. ^ Mr John Courtney, Ambassador to Zimbabwe. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade biography. Australian Government. Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
  3. ^ Foreign Minister's press release
  4. ^ Africa Intelligence no. 1220, August 25, 2007
  5. ^ ZBCNews
  6. ^ The Herald (Harare), Nov. 23, 2007.
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