Stephen Christopher BradyAO,CVO (born 11 June 1959) is an Australian former career diplomat. In 1999,he and his partner Peter Stephens became the world's first officially acknowledged same sex ambassadorial couple,when they were presented to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark at the start of Brady's posting as Australian Ambassador to Denmark.[1] From September 2008 to June 2014 he was the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia. During this time he was also Secretary of the Council of the Order of Australia and Secretary of the Bravery Decorations Council. In March 2014 his appointment as Ambassador to the French Republic,with concurrent accreditation to the Kingdom of Morocco,Algeria,Mauritania and the Principality of Monaco was announced.[2]
Brady joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1982 as a graduate foreign service officer. Promoted in 1985 to the Office of Security and Intelligence Coordination in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,he was subsequently foreign policy adviser to two Leaders of the Opposition.[4] From 1990 –1991 he was Counsellor and Chargéd'Affaires at the Australian Embassy in Dublin.[1]
From 1991 to 1996,he was head of the Guest of Government program in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.[1] On two later occasions he was seconded from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to work for the Prime Minister as a Senior Adviser.[3]
In December 1998,he was appointed Ambassador to Sweden with non-resident accreditation to Denmark,Norway,Finland,Iceland,Estonia,Latvia and Lithuania.[5] He was Australia's Representative at three consecutive high level international conferences on combating intolerance and discrimination,held in Stockholm (2000–03).[1] In 2000 he headed Australia's delegation to the Plurilateral War Crimes Conference in Riga,Latvia.[3]
In February 1999,he made headlines as Australia's and the world's first openly gay ambassador when he formally presented his partner Peter Stephens to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.[1][6][7] Stephens's passport was initially endorsed "Bearer is a member of the domestic household of the Ambassador",until Brady,who had been in a committed relationship with Stephens since 1982,insisted that it be changed.[1]
In February 2004,he was appointed Ambassador to the Netherlands. He was instrumental in coordinating arrangements with the Dutch government for Australia's joint military operation in Afghanistan which,according to Australian Chief of the Defence Force,Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston,"he facilitated brilliantly".[1] Brady's diplomatic skills and remarkable and extensive network of connections were widely acknowledged.[8]
In December 2007,he led Australia's delegation to the International Criminal Court's Assembly of State Parties Conference at the UN in New York.[3]
On 31 March 2014,his appointment as Australian Ambassador to France was announced.[11] In May 2015,he reportedly offered his resignation (which was not accepted) to Australia's DFAT after an incident in which he refused to follow an instruction given by the travelling party of the Australian Prime Minister,after his partner was told to stay in the car and not greet Prime Minister Tony Abbott at an unofficial airport arrival in France.[12] Prime Minister Abbott later described Brady as 'a fine servant of Australia.'[13]
Towards the end of his posting in Paris,the French State appointed Brady as a Commandeur of the Legion of Honour for his outstanding leadership of the bilateral relationship,only the second Australian civilian to receive the level of award after Sir Ninian Stephen,a former Governor-General.[14][15]
2015 Australia Day Honours. For distinguished service to successive Australian Governments,to international relations through senior diplomatic roles,to the fostering of security,economic and cultural initiatives,and as Official Secretary to the Governor-General.[17]
30 April 2009 by Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands for his ambassadorial success in The Netherlands. He was later invested with the insignia at the Dutch Embassy in Canberra by Ambassador Willem Andreae.[20]
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations,international aid,consular services and trade and investment. Australia's total official development assistance (ODA) decreased in 2022 due to differences in Australia's financial year reporting and the timing of its COVID-19-related expenditure,representing 0.19% of gross national income (GNI).
Peter Joseph Noozhumurry Varghese is an Australian retired diplomat and public servant. He was the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 3 December 2012 to 22 July 2016. He announced in November 2015 that he would leave the position in July 2016 to become the chancellor of the University of Queensland.
Nicholas Peter Warner,is an Australian diplomat,intelligence official,public servant,and the Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence since 20 December 2018.
Penelope Anne Wensley,is an Australian former public servant and diplomat who served as the 25th Governor of Queensland from 2008 to 2014. She was previously High Commissioner to India from 2001 to 2004 and Ambassador to France from 2005 to 2008.
Frances Jennifer Adamson,is an Australian public servant and diplomat who is the 36th Governor of South Australia,in office since 7 October 2021. She previously served as Australian Ambassador to China from 2011 to 2015 and as secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2016 to 2021.
Joanna Miriam Hewitt is a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker. She is currently the Chair of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.
Ric Lawson Wells (born 20 October 1955 is an Australian former diplomat and senior public servant with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Wells' senior postings included Australia’s Ambassador to France from 2011 until 2014 and two terms as Deputy Secretary of DFAT.
Gillian Elizabeth Bird 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. She is a former Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations,serving between 2015 and 2019.
David James Ritchie is an Australian diplomat and a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). His last appointment was as Ambassador for Australia to Germany,a post to which he was appointed in 2013.
Jan Elizabeth Adams is a senior Australian public servant who has served as the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade since July 2022. Adams is also a former Australian diplomat who served as the Australian Ambassador to Japan since October 2020. She was previously the Australian Ambassador to China from February 2016 to August 2019.
Mark Thomas Fraser is an Australian public servant and diplomat. He was the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia,General Sir Peter Cosgrove,from June 2014 to August 2018.
The ambassador of Australia for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the delegation of the Commonwealth of Australia to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC),based with its secretariat in Singapore. The position has the rank and status of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and has been sent since March 1996,when Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade Tim Fischer appointed Peter Grey as the first ambassador,although APEC has existed since 1989.
Gregory Laurence Moriarty is a senior Australian public servant and diplomat,and the current Secretary of the Department of Defence since 4 September 2017. He was previously the Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Moriarty has been Australian Ambassador to Iran from 2005 to 2008,Australian Ambassador to Indonesia from 2010 to 2014,the inaugural Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Coordinator from 2015 to 2016,and the International and National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister.
Berenice Owen-Jones,is a senior career officer with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT),who is currently Australian High Commissioner to Ghana since July 2022.
↑ Weller, P.; etal. (2011). From Postbox to Powerhouse: A Centenary History of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Allen & Unwin. pp.107, 133, 155.
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