Ric Wells

His Excellency
Ric Wells
Official photograph of middle aged man with grey hair and no other facial hair, wearing a suit, smiling into the camera.
Australian Ambassador to France
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 2012
Preceded by David Ritchie
Personal details
Born 20 October 1955
Sydney, Australia
Nationality Australian
Spouse(s) Erica Wells
Residence Paris
Alma mater Newington College
University of Sydney
Occupation Senior career officer with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Profession Diplomat

Ric Lawson Wells (born 20 October 1955) is an Australian diplomat and senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). He is a former Deputy Secretary of DFAT and has been Australia’s Ambassador to France since January 2012.[1]

Early life and education

Wells was born in Sydney and attended Newington College (1968–1973).[2] In his first year at Newington he shared the B S Tame Prize as one of two duces of First Form and again was co-dux in 1971 when he shared the Stretton Waterhouse Memorial Prize in Fourth Form. At the end of 1972 he was Proxime accessit in the Fifth Form and was awarded one of three Wigram Allen Scholarships. 1973 was his last year at Newington and he shared the George Lane Prize as Proxime accesserunt and was also awarded the Richard Thompson Memorial Prize for Debating.[3] At the University of Sydney he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in 1978.[4]

Career

After commencing employment with DFAT Wells had postings to Cairo (1980-1985) and Jakarta (1987-1989). He was Assistant Secretary, Services and Intellectual Property Branch (1994-1995) and was Deputy Head of the Australian Mission to the World Trade Organisation in Geneva (1995-1999). Following that, Wells was an Assistant Secretary in the Trade Policy and Industrials Branch during 1999. From 2000 until 2002 he was an Assistant Secretary of the Asia, Americas and Trade Branch in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. During 2002 he headed the White Paper Task Force And in the following year was appointed the First Assistant Secretary of the South Pacific, Africa and Middle East Division. Between 2005 and 2009, Wells was the Head of the China Free Trade Agreement Task Force, the Head of the Japan Free Trade Agreement Task Force and the Head of the Korea Free Trade Agreement Task Force. In the years before his appointment as Ambassador to France he was both the Deputy Secretary of the department of DFAT and Australia’s Ambassador to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group.[5]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ric Wells.
  1. ↑ Diplomatic Appointment - Ambassador to France Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998 (Syd, 1999) pp212
  3. ↑ Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998 (Syd, 1999) Part 2 - The Lists
  4. ↑ "Alumni Sidneienses". University of Sydney. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  5. ↑ Ric Wells – Australian Mission Retrieved 6 June 2014.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
David Ritchie		 Australian Ambassador to France
2011–2014 		Succeeded by
Stephen Brady