Alexander Downer
Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom | |
---|---|
In office 27 June 2014 – 27 April 2018 | |
Nominated by | Tony Abbott |
Preceded by | Mike Rann |
Succeeded by | George Brandis |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Mayo | |
In office 1 December 1984 – 14 July 2008 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Jamie Briggs |
Personal details | |
Born | Alexander John Gosse Downer 9 September 1951 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
Political party | Liberal |
Spouse |
Nicola Robinson (m. 1978) |
Children | 4 |
Parents | |
Education | |
Alma mater | Newcastle University, England |
Occupation | |
Profession | |
Alexander John Gosse Downer
Downer was born in
After the
When the Howard government came to power in 1996, Downer was made Minister for Foreign Affairs. He served until the government's defeat in 2007, making him the longest-serving foreign minister in Australian history. Downer left politics in 2008, and was subsequently named Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Cyprus. He held that post until 2014, when he was appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom by the Abbott government.
Early life and education
The
Alexander Downer was born on 9 September 1951 in Adelaide, South Australia,[4] when the family were living in the Adelaide Hills home built by his father, Arbury Park.[5] He is the third of four children born to Sir Alexander "Alick" Downer and Mary Downer (née Gosse); he has three sisters.[citation needed]
Downer was educated at Geelong Grammar School in Australia, then in England (while his father was High Commissioner) at Radley College between 1964 and 1970.[6] He subsequently completed a Bachelor of Arts in politics and economics at Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne.[7]
Early career
From 1975 to 1976, he worked as an economist for the
Prior to the 1981 by-election Downer unsuccessfully sought Liberal Party preselection for the seat of Boothby,[8][9] and in 1982 for the state seat of Bragg.[10] From 1983 to 1984, he also served as the Executive Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce.[7] In 1984, he was finally preselected and was elected to the federal Parliament as Liberal member for Mayo, in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. He held this seat until his resignation from Parliament in 2008.
Opposition leader
Downer held a number of positions on the opposition front bench from 1987 onwards. When the Liberals unexpectedly lost the 1993 election to Prime Minister Paul Keating, after the election Downer became Shadow Treasurer replacing Peter Reith who had resigned from the portfolio.[4] During this time, Downer began to be talked of as a possible leader as John Hewson was seen as weak following the 1993 election defeat. In May 1994 Downer succeeded Hewson as Liberal party leader after defeating him in a leadership spill which Hewson initiated. Downer was the first South Australian to lead the party,[11] as well as the first South Australian to lead the non-Labor side since Federation.
As Liberal leader, Downer initially attracted record levels of public support, even when incumbent Prime Minister Paul Keating launched a series of attacks on Downer's privileged background.[12] Then aged 43, he was perceived as a fresh-faced alternative[citation needed] to a government in its twelfth year of power.
Several months after becoming leader Downer's support base was quickly eroded, however, by a series of embarrassing public blunders. One was the emergence of a 1987 speech to the far-right Australian League of Rights.[13] Another was the sacking of John Hewson from the shadow ministry in August 1994. A damaging incident emerged from a formal dinner attended by Downer. While promoting the Liberal slogan "The Things That Matter", in a reference to abusing husbands, Downer quipped that the party's domestic violence policy would accordingly be named "The Things That Batter". Downer also found it difficult to handle the gulf between monarchists and republicans in his own party but resolved the dispute by promising to establish a constitutional convention to consider the issue. By the end of 1994, his approval ratings had dwindled to 34 percent after being as high as 53 percent.[citation needed]
Another event in 1994 that would spell the end of Downer's leadership was his decision for the Coalition to support the Keating government's sexual privacy legislation. The issue divided the Coalition with several MPs and Senators either voting against the legislation or abstaining from it.[14]
On 9 January 1995, internal Liberal Party polling showed that with Downer as leader, the Coalition had a slim chance of holding its marginal seats in the next election, let alone of winning government. On 11 January, Downer launched a major policy statement with ten policy commitments and criticised Liberals he saw as undermining his leadership. Downer negotiated in mid-January with now back-bencher Hewson, but this resulted in Hewson publicly declaring he wanted the shadow Treasury portfolio which meant Downer would have to sack deputy Liberal leader Peter Costello from the position to give the job to Hewson.[15] On 30 January 1995, he resigned as Liberal Leader and John Howard was elected unopposed to replace him. Downer pledged his support to Howard and said he would "kneecap" anyone who undermined Howard's second attempt at winning the prime ministership.[16]
With a tenure of just over eight months, Downer is to date the shortest-serving leader of the federal Liberal Party. He is also, alongside Brendan Nelson, one of two federal Liberal leaders never to lead the party into an election. On opposition leadership, he said in 2008, "The moment when I wanted to [leave] was just about the first day I started in the job. There was many a time from the first day onwards when I thought to myself, How the hell can I get out of this?"[17]
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Given choice of cabinet position[12] in the incoming Howard government elected in March 1996, Downer became Minister for Foreign Affairs, a position he held until 3 December 2007. He became the longest-serving Foreign Minister of Australia on 20 December 2004.
One of Downer's earliest initiatives as Foreign Minister was to work with New Zealand to broker a peace agreement in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, which ended a long running civil conflict.
In 1996, Downer took the
It's pretty hard to say on the one hand that we feel very strongly about Pakistani and Indian nuclear testing and on the other hand the U.S. Senate won't ratify the ... treaty ... The last thing the United States wants to see is a resumption of nuclear testing or the proliferation of nuclear weapons – and it is the last thing Australia wants to see. By refusing to ratify this treaty, the United States Senate has done a lot to undermine the arms control agenda that the international community, including Australia, has been working on.[18]
However, subsequent policies of the Howard government, including export of uranium to India, and general support for the unilateralist approach of the Bush Administration were seen as undermining the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the
In 1999, Downer assisted the United Nations to hold a referendum in
In 2003,
As Minister for Foreign Affairs, Downer played a role in the diplomatic dispute known as the Tampa affair in 2001 in which Australia denied permission for the MV Tampa to dock at Christmas Island, having picked up a number of asylum seekers trying to get to Australia by boat. Downer also played a role in the subsequent negotiation of the "Pacific Solution" in which Australia held asylum seekers off-shore in foreign jurisdictions.[citation needed]
In 2003, Downer was accused of not passing on intelligence reports he received before the 2002 Bali bombings. He countered that the warnings were not specific enough to warrant their further release to the Australian public.[27]
Downer supported Australia's participation in the
In August 2004, he made the claim based on official assessment reports that North Korea's Taepo Dong ballistic missile had a range sufficient to reach Sydney, a view disputed by some.[31]
In 2005, Australian members of the spiritual group Falun Gong launched action against Downer in the ACT Supreme Court alleging that his department had unfairly limited their freedom of expression.[32][33]
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade under Downer was accused by Chinese diplomat and defector Chen Yonglin of closely collaborating with the Chinese Embassy in Canberra, even to the extent of "giving suggestions to the Chinese Government on how to handle difficult political cases". Downer was accused of pursuing an unduly strong pro-China policy and failing to address human rights violations adequately.[34]
In March 2006, Downer said the Australian Government opposed selling uranium to India. Downer was quoted as saying "Australia had no plans to change a policy which rules out uranium sales to countries like India which have not signed the UN's
In April 2006, he appeared before the
In July 2006, it was claimed that six months before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Downer had argued that participating in the invasion would be commercially beneficial for Australia. Downer expressed concern that the war might lead to America taking all of Australia's wheat market.[35]
In August 2006, it was claimed by a former weapons inspector, Dr John Gee, that Downer had in 2004 suppressed accurate and provable information that the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was fundamentally flawed.[36][37][38]
As Foreign Minister, Downer initially supported the United States Government's incarceration of two Australian citizens, David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[39][40] Downer later told the US he wanted both released if they were not to be charged. On that basis, Habib was released and Hicks charged.
A major challenge for Downer was handling relations with Australia's most important neighbour,
In September 2007, on the sidelines of the 2007 APEC Conference in Sydney, Downer indicated that Australia planned to launch bilateral ministerial-level security talks with the People's Republic of China. Downer also stated, "China is a good partner of Australia. Whatever the differences there are between us in terms of our political systems, human rights issues, China is a very important part of the strategic architecture, the security architecture of the Asia-Pacific region and it's important we have good forums to discuss any issues of that kind with them."[42]
Post-parliamentary career
Following the Howard government's defeat at the 2007 federal election, Downer declined to make a comeback to the leadership and to serve on the Opposition frontbench, amid widespread speculation that he would resign his seat and seek new employment. He subsequently resigned from Parliament on 14 July 2008[43] and took a consulting job with Woodside Energy.[44] His resignation triggered a by-election in the seat of Mayo.
On 3 July 2008, the University of Adelaide announced Downer's appointment as Visiting Professor of Politics and International Trade in the School of History and Politics, including contributions to teaching and research, and work with the University's Institute for International Trade.[45] He was also the vice chairman at Carnegie Mellon University, South Australia.
At about the same time, he went into partnership with Ian Smith (a former Liberal Party advisor and husband of former Australian Democrats leader and Senator for South Australia Natasha Stott Despoja) and Nick Bolkus (a former Labor Senator for South Australia) in a boutique consultancy firm, Bespoke Approach.[46]
Also in 2008, Downer discussed the possibility of working as a United Nations envoy to
He resigned in February 2014 to take up the post of Australia's High Commissioner in London where he replaced former South Australian Labor premier,
He has had a number of board appointments, including the Advisory Board of British strategic intelligence and advisory firm Hakluyt & Company,[53] merchant bankers Cappello Capital Corp.,[54] the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra,[55] Huawei in Australia,[56] and the board of Lakes Oil.[57] Downer has said that Huawei should not be considered a potential national security risk.[58] Downer's comments are at odds with an October 2012 US congressional panel's findings that have deemed Huawei a security threat to the US and other nations.[59]
A longtime supporter of
]In 2015, he was recommended by British and Australian officials as a possible compromise candidate for
In 2017, it was announced that Downer would join UK think tank Policy Exchange as Chair of Trustees.[63] In June 2018, Downer became the Executive Chairman of the International School of Government at King's College, London. He is a non-executive director of CQS and of Yellow Cake plc.
In 2018, he was named to Tilray's International Advisory Board.[64] As of 2019,[update] Downer is Executive Chair of the International School for Government at King's College London.[65][66]
In 2019 and 2020, Downer wrote regular columns for the Australian Financial Review. In his column on 1 November 2020 discussing the forthcoming US election (held on 3 November), he declared that if he was eligible to vote in the US (which, he explained, he was not), although "there's no perfect choice", he would vote for Donald Trump.[67]
In 2021, Downer joined ASX-listed mining company Ironbark Zinc as non-executive director.[68]
Honours
In January 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal.[69]
Downer was appointed a
Personal life
Downer is married to Nicky (née Nicola Rosemary Robinson), who is a prominent figure in the arts community and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005 for her service to the arts.[71] They have four children, including Georgina Downer.
He is an enthusiast of
In mid-2014, the Downers sold Brampton House in Mount George,[74] though they intended to return to South Australia in 2017.[75]
In popular culture
Alexander Downer was portrayed by Richard Binsley in the 2020 miniseries The Comey Rule[76] and Francis Greenslade in the 2014 film Schapelle.
He was featured in the musical Keating!, played by Cam Rogers (2006 Sydney run) and Casey Bennetto (2005 Melbourne run).[77]
Electoral history
Federal
Election year | Electorate | Party | Votes | FP% | 2PP% | Result | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | Mayo | Liberal | 31,131 | 52.40% | 3.5 | 60.50% | -1.8 | First | |
1987 | 35,040 | 54.00% | 1.6 | 62.60% | 2.2 | First | |||
1990 | 39,037 | 52.50% | 1.5 | 61.60% | 1.1 | First | |||
1993 | 42,647 | 53.98% | 3.43 | 60.60% | 1.0 | First | |||
1996 | 46,920 | 57.02% | 3.04 | 65.16% | 4.56 | First | |||
1998 | 38,246 | 45.64% | 11.37 | 51.74% | 13.42 | First | |||
2001 | 41,529 | 52.76% | 6.45 | 62.87% | 2.97 | First | |||
2004 | 44,520 | 53.64% | 0.01 | 61.81% | 2.49 | First | |||
2007 | 45,893 | 51.08% | 2.56 | 57.06% | 6.53 | First |
See also
References
- ISBN 978-1-74305-199-3. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Hon Alexander Downer MP". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
- ^ Oats, Sydney; South Australian Heritage (12 May 2010). "The Mansion Adelaide Hills 1969". Flickr. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
Info Courtesy of South Australian Heritage.
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- ^ News Limited. p. 44.
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- ^ Hewson, John (21 September 2017). "John Hewson: John Howard's republican debate tactics threaten same-sex marriage". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ a b Wright, Tony (2 July 2008). "Taking his leave: Alexander Downer, Australia's longest-serving foreign minister, is set to quit politics". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ "An Open Letter to Alexander Downer". Archived 24 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Australian League of Rights
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- ^ "Program Transcript – Greens & Democrats: East Timor robbed over gas deal". The World Today – ABC Local Radio. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 March 2003. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
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- ^ "Wait and see on Iraqi weapons: Downer". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 January 2004. Archived from the original on 26 June 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
- ^ "Downer launches own missile on eve of visit to North Korea". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ "The World Today – Falun Gong launches legal action against Downer". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ "Mike Steketee: The price is rights". The Australian. 12 April 2006. Archived from the original on 12 April 2006.
- ^ Bullivant, Richard (Spring 2005). "Chinese Defectors Reveal Chinese Strategy and Agents in Australia". National Observer. No. 66. pp. 43–48. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
{{cite magazine}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Baker, Richard (3 July 2006). "Australia's other war in Iraq". The Age. Melbourne: Fairfax Media. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
- ^ Wilkinson, Marian (31 August 2006). "Weapons cover-up revealed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
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- ^ "Private Placements of Equity Capital Private Public Companies PIPE Financing". Cappello Capital Corp. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ "Board and Staff listing". Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ "Huawei names John Brumby, Alexander Downer board members". The Australian. 16 August 2011.
- ^ Cai, Peter (1 February 2013). "Downer joins Lakes Oil as Rinehart board appointee". Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- ^ Maiden, Malcolm (24 October 2009). "Huawei a security risk by any gauge". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
- ^ "Huawei and ZTE pose security threat, warns US panel". BBC News. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
- ^ Farr, Malcolm (23 February 2008). "Pressure for 2010 vote on republic". Herald Sun.
- ^ Taylor, Lenore (10 November 2015). "Alexander Downer touted as next secretary-general of the Commonwealth". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ "Commonwealth elects first woman secretary general". Times of Malta. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ "Policy Exchange is delighted to announce that our next Chairman of Trustees will be Alexander Downer, High Commissioner of Australia" (Press release). Policy Exchange. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ "Tilray names several former politicians to international advisory board". Financial Post. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ "Alexander Downer AC". King's College London. 10 September 2019.
- ^ Downer, Alexander (13 July 2019). "It is the right time for an unashamedly political British ambassador to Washington". The Telegraph.
- ^ Downer, Alexander (2 November 2020). "Why I would grit my teeth and vote to re-elect Trump". Australian Financial Review.
- ^ "Ironbark Zinc welcomes Alexander Downer and Paul Cahill as directors". Proactive. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "DOWNER, Alexander John – Centenary Medal". It's an Honour database. Australian Government. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
- ^ "Honorary Doctorates". University of South Australia. 2013. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ "It's an Honour: AM". Itsanhonour.gov.au. 26 January 2005. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ "Downer tops 250 km/h in V8 joyride". The Age. 1 July 2005. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
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- ^ Jonathan Chancellor, (20 January 2015), London-based Alexander Downer sells Adelaide Hills home, Property Observer Retrieved 13 March 2016
- ^ Carolyn Boyd, (11 November 2015), ‘Retirement is death': Downsizer Alexander Downer contemplates life after London, Domain, retrieved 13 March 2016
- IMDbRetrieved 1 November 2020
- ^ "Casey Bennetto". The Wheeler Centre. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
External links
- The Alexander Downer Collection at the University of South Australia Library
- Search or browse Hansard for Alexander Downer at OpenAustralia.org