Gillian Bird
Australian Ambassador to France | |
---|---|
Assumed office 5 November 2020 | |
Preceded by | Brendan Berne |
Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations | |
In office February 2015 – 17 October 2019 | |
Preceded by | Gary Quinlan |
Succeeded by | Mitch Fifield |
Personal details | |
Born | Gillian Elizabeth Bird June 1957 Adelaide, Australia |
Alma mater | University of Sydney École nationale d'administration |
Gillian Elizabeth Bird PSM (born in Adelaide)[1] has served as Australia's Ambassador to France since November 2020. Bird concurrently serves as Australia's non-resident Ambassador to Algeria, Mauritania, and Monaco.[2] She is a former Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations, serving between 2015 and 2019.[3]
Education
Bird graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) and later studied at the École nationale d'administration.[4]
Career
Bird joined the
Bird returned to Australia in 1993 and was appointed Assistant Secretary in the Executive Branch of the foreign ministry, and from 1994 to 1997 was Assistant Secretary in the Peace, Arms Control and Disarmament Branch.[4] From 1997 to 1999 Bird was First Assistant Secretary in International Organisations and Legal Division, and from 1999 to 2002 she was First Assistant Secretary in the South and South-East Asia Division.[4]
After a stint as Head of the Foreign and Trade Policy White Paper Task Force of the Australian foreign department, in 2002 she was appointed as First Assistant Secretary in the International Division of Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. She held this position until 2004, when she was appointed Deputy Secretary in the Executive Branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.[4]
Concurrent to this role, in 2008 Bird was appointed as Australia's first Ambassador to the
On 11 June 2014,
In November 2020, she was appointed as the new Australian Ambassador to France, Algeria, Mauritania and Monaco, replacing Brendan Berne who occupied the post since 2017.[11] Bird presented her credentials to the Director of State Protocol and Diplomatic Events at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, on 5 November 2020.[12]
Affidavit in NPA agent corruption case
In July 2014 news sites outside of Australia reported that an unprecedented suppression order was issued by the Supreme Court of Victoria for an affidavit from Bird relating to allegations that Securency and Note Printing Australia (NPA) agents had made bribes totalling million of dollars for the purposes of securing contracts to manufacture polymer banknotes to Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other countries. A copy of the order published by Wikileaks, reportedly showed that Bird's affidavit and the very fact that the suppression order existed, was suppressed on national security grounds throughout Australian media.[13]
Awards
In 2012 Bird was awarded the
References
- ^ Association for Baha’i Studies – Australia (2001). Human rights, faith and culture: 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (PDF). Juxta Publishing. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "Where are they now? Gillian Bird (1975)". www.pymblelc.nsw.edu.au. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ a b "New Permanent Representative of Australia Presents Credentials (2015)". United Nations. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Ms Gillian Bird – Biographical details". Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "Bird appointed as ASEAN ambassador". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 September 2008. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "Ms Gillian Bird appointed as Australia's first ambassador to ASEAN". Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper. 6 September 2008. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "Senior Diplomatic Appointments". Prime Minister of Australia. 11 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "PM names next Australian ambassador to UN". SBS. 12 June 2014. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations". Minister for Foreign Affairs. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ "New Permanent Representative of Australia Presents Credentials (2019)". United Nations. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ Payne, Marise (22 October 2020). "Ambassador to France". Minister for Foreign Affairs (Press release). Australian Government. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ "Presentation of Credentials by New Australian Ambassador to France, H.E. Gillian Bird PSM". Australia France Business Association. November 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ "Aussie graft case suppression order covers M'sian PMs". Archived from the original on 30 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
- ^ "Public Service Medal" (PDF). Governor-General of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
External links
This article incorporates material from a website of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence. Attribution: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website – www.dfat.gov.au