Richard Woolcott

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Richard Arthur Woolcott AC is a retired Australian diplomat, author and commentator.

Woolcott was educated at Geelong Grammar School and the University of Melbourne, and became a member of the Australian Diplomatic Service. He held positions as Australia's ambassador to Indonesia and The Philippines, as well as High Commissioner to Malaysia, Ghana and Singapore.[1] He was the Australian Ambassador to the United Nations from 1982 to 1988, and served as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the most senior diplomatic posting in Australia, from 1988 to 1992.[2] As DFAT Secretary, he was involved in the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.[3] On June 4, 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that Woolcott had been appointed as an envoy to conduct discussions to form a new Asian regional forum.[3]

In 2003 Woolcott wrote a personal memoir entitled The Hot Seat: Reflections on Diplomacy from Stalin’s Death to the Bali Bombings,[4] and he also wrote a book called Undiplomatic Activities in 2007.[5]

For his services to diplomacy and international relations, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1985,[6] and appointed a Companion of the Order in 1993.[7] Woolcott's son, Richard, is also a diplomat and has served as the ambassador to Italy.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ On Line Opinion (2008). Richard Woolcott. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  2. ^ "Richard Woolcott and Mandyam Srinivasan", The Backyard, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2007-08-29. Retrieved on 2007-12-17. 
  3. ^ a b c Maley, Paul. "Old warhorse Richard Woolcott back in harness to smooth regional ties", The Australian, June 5, 2008. 
  4. ^ HarperCollins (2008). The Hot Seat: Reflections on Diplomacy from Stalin’s Death to the Bali Bombings. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  5. ^ Scribe Publications (2008). Undiplomatic Activities. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  6. ^ It's An Honour (2008). WOOLCOTT AO, Richard Arthur. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  7. ^ It's An Honour (2008). WOOLCOTT AC, Richard Arthur. Retrieved June 5, 2008.

[edit] External links

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