RICHARD WOOLCOTT AC
In April 2008 he was appointed by the Rudd government as Chairman of a committee to review the Australian citizenship test. In June 2008 he was also appointed the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to develop an Asia Pacific Community concept. He was Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1988 to 1992. Prior to that appointment he had served as deputy to the High Commissioner in Malaysia, Commissioner in Singapore, High Commissioner to Ghana, Ambassador to the Philippines, Ambassador to Indonesia and Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1982-1988), where he also represented Australia on the Security Council (1985-1986). He was Chairman of the Australia Indonesia Institute from (1992-1998) and a member of the Advisory Panel for the first Government White Paper on Foreign and Trade Policy, published in 1997. Between 1992 and 2005 he was on the Boards of a number of companies in the private sector. Mr Woolcott was closely involved with the establishment of the Asia Pacific Regional Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) and in 1989 was appointed as former Prime Minister Hawke’s Special Envoy charged with developing the APEC concept. He has also carried out Special Envoy roles for Prime Ministers Holt, Whitlam, Howard and, most recently, Rudd. He was made an Officer in the Order of Australia in 1985 and a Companion in the Order in 1993. He was awarded the Bintang Mahaputra Utama by the Government of Indonesia in 2000 for his contribution to bilateral and regional relationships. He was awarded the 2008 Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop Asia Medal for his contribution to Australia’s relationships with Asian countries. In 2008 he was selected as one of the inaugural Fellows of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. Mr Woolcott has contributed articles to leading Australian and overseas newspapers and journals. He is the author of The Hot Seat: Reflections on Diplomacy from Stalin's Death to the Bali Bombings, which was published in 2003 by Harper Collins and Undiplomatic Activities, published by Scribe in 2007.
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Richard Woolcott AC is the Founding Director of the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre and a founding member of the Australian American Leadership Foundation. He is also a member of the International Council of the New York based Asia Society.