Alexander Downer
Encyclopedia
Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is a former Australian Liberal Party
politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia
from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history. He was also the Leader of the Opposition for eight months from 1994 to 1995.
, South Australia, into one of the state's prominent established political families
. His father, Sir Alec Downer
, also reached cabinet rank in federal politics, and was then High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1972. His grandfather, Sir John Downer
, was twice Premier of South Australia
and a Senator in the first federal Parliament in 1901. His mother, Mary, Lady Downer
(née Mary Gosse), is descended from early immigrants to South Australia. Downer is related via the Gosse family to Edmund Gosse
, a famed English literary critic.
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, and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. From 1975 to 1976, he worked as an economist for the Bank of New South Wales
, before entering the Australian Diplomatic Service, where he served until 1982. Some of Downer's time in the Diplomatic Service was spent at a posting in Brussels
, where he undertook a French language training course. He then worked as an adviser to the then Liberal
Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser
and subsequent Leader of the Federal Opposition Andrew Peacock
. From 1983 to 1984, he also served as the Executive Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce. In 1984, he 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.
(1985–89), then Peacock after he replaced Howard, then Dr John Hewson
. During these years Downer held a number of positions on the Opposition front bench from 1987 onwards. In 1993, he became Shadow Treasurer replacing Peter Reith
. When the Liberals unexpectedly lost the 1993 election to Prime Minister Paul Keating
, Downer began to be talked of as a possible leader, and in May 1994 he succeeded Dr. Hewson as leader of the Liberal party after defeating him in a leadership ballot. (Hewson said if he lost 1993 he would resign but chose to continue).
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. Then aged 43, he was perceived as a fresh-faced alternative to a government in its 12th year of power. Indeed, Bob Hawke
predicted that Downer would be Australia's next Prime Minister.
Downer's support base was quickly eroded, however, by a series of embarrassing public blunders, the most famous of which occurred at a formal dinner. Promoting the Liberal slogan "The Things That Matter", Downer then joked that the party's domestic violence policy would accordingly be named "The Things That Batter", referring to abusive husbands. Downer also found it difficult to handle the gulf between monarchists and republicans in his own party. By the end of 1994, his approval ratings had dwindled to 34 percent after being as high as 53 percent.
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 was held by Downer's deputy, Peter Costello
. On 26 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.
With a tenure of just over eight months, Downer is to date the shortest-serving leader of the federal Liberal Party. He is also, with Brendan Nelson
and Malcolm Turnbull
, one of three federal Liberal leaders never to lead the party into an election. On opposition leadership, he said in 2008 that: "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?"
Downer was given the choice of cabinet position in the incoming Howard
government elected in March 1996, choosing 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 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to the United Nations General Assembly
where it was embraced by most members of the world body. Pakistan
, India
and North Korea
were among those who failed to ratify the treaty and went ahead in developing nuclear weapons capability. In 1999, the U.S. Senate
rejected ratification of the treaty. Downer stated
However, subsequent policies of the Howard government, including export of uranium to India, and general support for the unilateralist approach of the Bush Administration have been seen as undermining the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. (link doesn't work) In 1999, Downer played a key role in assisting the United Nations to hold a referendum in East Timor
and in negotiating the entry of the INTERFET
peace keeping force into East Timor.
This intervention has been attributed by Osama Bin Laden
as provoking a fatwā
on Australia and Australian interests.
In 2003, Downer signed an agreement over the gas and oil reserves
in the Timor Gap
. An agreement which has been criticised by some opposition parties and other critics, including a bipartisan letter of reproach from 50 members of the United States Congress
, as being unfair to East Timor
as the gas reserves are closer to East Timor than Australia but are claimed by Australia on the basis of a treaty with General Suharto, in 1989.
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.
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.
Downer supported Australia's participation in the Iraq war. He argued that Iraq, the Middle East and the world would be better off without the regime of Saddam Hussein
and he defended the claim that weapons of mass destruction
would be found in Iraq
.
In August 2004 he made a provocative claim that North Korea
could launch Taepo Dong
ballistic missile with a range long enough to hit Sydney, a view disputed by experts.
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.
Downer was accused by Chen Yonglin
, a defected Chinese diplomat, of closely collaborating with the Chinese Embassy in Canberra, even "giving suggestions to the Chinese Government on how to handle difficult political cases."
In August 2006, it was claimed by a former weapons inspector Dr John Gee
, that Downer had in 2004 suppressed information that the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was fundamentally flawed.
In March 2006 he said the Australian Government opposed selling uranium to India. Downer is 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 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT)." Following the conclusion of the US-India nuclear agreement, the Australian Government said it would export uranium to civil nuclear facilities in India subject to several conditions one of which was the conclusion of a bilateral safeguards agreement.
In April 2006 he appeared before the Cole Inquiry
regarding the oil for food scandal
and testified that he was ignorant of the kickbacks paid to the Iraq government, despite claims by the Opposition Labor Party that several warnings that had been received by his department from various sources.
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.
As Foreign Minister, Downer supported the United States Government's incarceration of two Australian citizens, David Hicks
and Mamdouh Habib
, in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
Habib was eventually released without charge. Following a plea bargain
, Hicks was sentenced in 2007, by the military commission, for providing material support for terrorism
, and was returned to Australia to serve the remaining nine months of his sentence, which expired in December 2007. As of May 2008, Hicks is the only one of the 517 foreign terror suspects held at Guantanamo to be convicted.
A major challenge for Downer was handling relations with Australia's most important neighbour, Indonesia
. Downer negotiated the 2006 Lombok Treaty to put security relations between the two countries on a stable footing, built bilateral co-operation to fight terrorism, people smuggling and illegal fishing. One of the recent difficulties which erupted between Australia and Indonesia was when Australia accepted a boatload of asylum seekers from Indonesia's Papua province in March 2006.
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."
's defeat at the 2007 federal election, Downer declined to serve on the Opposition frontbench, amid widespread speculation that he would resign his seat and seek new employment. He informed colleagues in May 2008 that he was considering staying in politics with a view to becoming shadow treasurer under either Brendan Nelson
or Malcolm Turnbull
., but he subsequently resigned from Parliament on 14 July 2008. 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. He also holds a Professorship at Carnegie Mellon University
.
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.
Also in 2008, Downer discussed the possibility of working as a United Nations envoy to Cyprus
with the UN Secretary-General
to help revive the peace process. The appointment received the support of the Rudd government
, via the Foreign Minister Stephen Smith
, and it took effect on 14 July 2008.
He has a number of board appointments, including the Advisory Board of British strategic intelligence and advisory firm Hakluyt & Company
, Merchant Bankers Cappello Capital Corp., the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
, and the board of Huawei
in Australia.
A longtime supporter of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
, Downer has played a leading role opposing moves to replace the Queen with a president
.
in 2005 for her service to the arts. They have four children, Georgina, Olivia, Edward, and Henrietta.
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia)
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs is responsible for overseeing the international diplomacy section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In common with international practice, the office is often informally referred to as Foreign Minister...
from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history. He was also the Leader of the Opposition for eight months from 1994 to 1995.
Early history and career
Downer was born in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia, into one of the state's prominent established political families
Downer family
The Downer family has played a significant role in the South Australian and Australian political and social sphere since the early days of European settlement.*Henry Downer arrived in Adelaide from England in 1838....
. His father, Sir Alec Downer
Alexander Downer, Sr.
Sir Alexander Russell Downer KBE , Australian politician generally known as Alec Downer, was born in Adelaide, a part of the Downer family and son of John Downer, who was a former Premier of South Australia and member of the Australian Senate.He was educated at Geelong Grammar School and at Oxford...
, also reached cabinet rank in federal politics, and was then High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1972. His grandfather, Sir John Downer
John Downer
Sir John William Downer, KCMG was the Premier of South Australia from 16 June 1885 until 11 June 1887 and again from 1892 to 1893. He was the first of three Australian politicians from the Downer family dynasty.-Early life:...
, was twice Premier of South Australia
Premiers of South Australia
Before the 1890s when there was no formal party system in South Australia, MPs tended to have historical liberal or conservative beliefs. The liberals dominated government from 1893 to 1905 with Labor support, with the conservatives mostly in opposition. Labor took government with the support of...
and a Senator in the first federal Parliament in 1901. His mother, Mary, Lady Downer
Mary Downer
Mary Downer, Lady Downer is a prominent South Australian patron, wife of deceased MP and high commissioner Sir Alexander Downer and mother of former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer....
(née Mary Gosse), is descended from early immigrants to South Australia. Downer is related via the Gosse family to Edmund Gosse
Edmund Gosse
Sir Edmund William Gosse CB was an English poet, author and critic; the son of Philip Henry Gosse and Emily Bowes.-Early life:...
, a famed English literary critic.
Downer was educated at Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay....
in Australia, then in England (while his father was High Commissioner) at Radley College
Radley College
Radley College , founded in 1847, is a British independent school for boys on the edge of the English village of Radley, near to the market town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, and has become a well-established boarding school...
between 1964 and 1970, and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. From 1975 to 1976, he worked as an economist for the Bank of New South Wales
Westpac
Westpac , is a multinational financial services, one of the Australian "big four" banks and the second-largest bank in New Zealand....
, before entering the Australian Diplomatic Service, where he served until 1982. Some of Downer's time in the Diplomatic Service was spent at a posting in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, where he undertook a French language training course. He then worked as an adviser to the then Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
and subsequent Leader of the Federal Opposition Andrew Peacock
Andrew Peacock
Andrew Sharp Peacock AC, GCL , is a former Australian Liberal politician. He was a minister in the Gorton, McMahon and Fraser governments, and was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia 1983–1985 and 1989–1990...
. From 1983 to 1984, he also served as the Executive Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce. In 1984, he was elected to the federal Parliament as Liberal member for Mayo
Division of Mayo
The Division of Mayo is an Australian Electoral Division located in the hills, east of Adelaide, South Australia and currently includes the towns of Victor Harbor, Lobethal, Mount Barker, Strathalbyn, Woodside and Kingscote....
, in the Adelaide Hills
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...
in South Australia. He held this seat until his resignation from Parliament in 2008.
Opposition Leader (1994–1995)
When Prime Minister Malcom Fraser lost in March 1983, The Liberals were in opposition from 1983 to 1996, with the leaders of Andrew Peacock (1983–85), then John HowardJohn Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
(1985–89), then Peacock after he replaced Howard, then Dr John Hewson
John Hewson
John Robert Hewson AM is an Australian economist, company director and a former politician. He was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 1990 to 1994 and led the party to defeat at the 1993 federal election.-Early life:...
. During these years Downer held a number of positions on the Opposition front bench from 1987 onwards. In 1993, he became Shadow Treasurer replacing Peter Reith
Peter Reith
Peter Keaston Reith, , former Australian politician, was a Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and then a senior Cabinet minister in the first two terms of the Howard Government.-Early life:...
. When the Liberals unexpectedly lost the 1993 election to Prime Minister Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
, Downer began to be talked of as a possible leader, and in May 1994 he succeeded Dr. Hewson as leader of the Liberal party after defeating him in a leadership ballot. (Hewson said if he lost 1993 he would resign but chose to continue).
As Liberal leader, Downer initially attracted record levels of public support, even when incumbent Prime Minister Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
launched a series of attacks on Downer's privileged background. Then aged 43, he was perceived as a fresh-faced alternative to a government in its 12th year of power. Indeed, Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
predicted that Downer would be Australia's next Prime Minister.
Downer's support base was quickly eroded, however, by a series of embarrassing public blunders, the most famous of which occurred at a formal dinner. Promoting the Liberal slogan "The Things That Matter", Downer then joked that the party's domestic violence policy would accordingly be named "The Things That Batter", referring to abusive husbands. Downer also found it difficult to handle the gulf between monarchists and republicans in his own party. By the end of 1994, his approval ratings had dwindled to 34 percent after being as high as 53 percent.
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 was held by Downer's deputy, Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
. On 26 January 1995 he resigned as Liberal Leader and John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
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.
With a tenure of just over eight months, Downer is to date the shortest-serving leader of the federal Liberal Party. He is also, with Brendan Nelson
Brendan Nelson
Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
and Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
, one of three federal Liberal leaders never to lead the party into an election. On opposition leadership, he said in 2008 that: "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?"
Minister for Foreign Affairs
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
government elected in March 1996, choosing Minister for Foreign Affairs
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia)
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs is responsible for overseeing the international diplomacy section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In common with international practice, the office is often informally referred to as Foreign Minister...
, 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
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
to broker a peace agreement in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, which ended a long running civil conflict.
In 1996 Downer took the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
where it was embraced by most members of the world body. Pakistan
Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction
Pakistan began focusing on nuclear weapons development in January 1972 under the leadership of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who delegated the program to the Chairman of PAEC Munir Ahmad Khan...
, India
Nuclear Command Authority (India)
The Nuclear Command Authority of India is the nodal agency for all command, control and operational decisions regarding India's nuclear weapon stockpile.- Introduction :...
and North Korea
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
North Korea has declared that it has nuclear weapons and is believed by many to have nuclear weapons. The CIA assesses that North Korea also has a substantial arsenal of chemical weapons...
were among those who failed to ratify the treaty and went ahead in developing nuclear weapons capability. In 1999, the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
rejected ratification of the treaty. Downer stated
- 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.
However, subsequent policies of the Howard government, including export of uranium to India, and general support for the unilateralist approach of the Bush Administration have been seen as undermining the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. (link doesn't work) In 1999, Downer played a key role in assisting the United Nations to hold a referendum in East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
and in negotiating the entry of the INTERFET
INTERFET
The International Force for East Timor was a multinational peacekeeping taskforce, mandated by the United Nations to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers...
peace keeping force into East Timor.
This intervention has been attributed by Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
as provoking a fatwā
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
on Australia and Australian interests.
In 2003, Downer signed an agreement over the gas and oil reserves
Oil reserves
The total estimated amount of oil in an oil reservoir, including both producible and non-producible oil, is called oil in place. However, because of reservoir characteristics and limitations in petroleum extraction technologies, only a fraction of this oil can be brought to the surface, and it is...
in the Timor Gap
Timor Gap
The Timor Gap is often used to refer to an area of ocean between Timor, Indonesia and Australia. In actuality, it refers to a gap in a seabed boundary which Australia and Indonesia negotiated in 1972 – the part of the line they could not define because, Portugal, who governed East Timor, declined...
. An agreement which has been criticised by some opposition parties and other critics, including a bipartisan letter of reproach from 50 members of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, as being unfair to East Timor
as the gas reserves are closer to East Timor than Australia but are claimed by Australia on the basis of a treaty with General Suharto, in 1989.
As Minister for Foreign Affairs, Downer played a role in the diplomatic dispute known as the Tampa affair
Tampa affair
In August 2001, the Howard Government of Australia refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa, carrying 438 rescued Afghans from a distressed fishing vessel in international waters, to enter Australian waters...
in 2001 in which Australia denied permission for the MV Tampa to dock at Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
, 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
Pacific Solution
The Pacific Solution was the name given to the Australian government policy of transporting asylum seekers to detention camps on small island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Australian mainland...
" in which Australia held asylum seekers off-shore in foreign jurisdictions.
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.
Downer supported Australia's participation in the Iraq war. He argued that Iraq, the Middle East and the world would be better off without the regime of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
and he defended the claim that weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
would be found in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
In August 2004 he made a provocative claim that North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
could launch Taepo Dong
Taepodong-2
The Taepodong-2 is a designation used to indicate a North Korean two or three-stage ballistic missile design that is the successor to the Taepodong-1.-Details:...
ballistic missile with a range long enough to hit Sydney, a view disputed by experts.
In 2005 Australian members of the spiritual group Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
launched action against Downer in the ACT Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory
The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the superior court for the ACT. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters , and hears the most serious criminal matters...
alleging that his department had unfairly limited their freedom of expression.
Downer was accused by Chen Yonglin
Chen Yonglin
Chen Yonglin is a former Chinese diplomat who sparked fears of a diplomatic incident through his defection to Australia in the summer of 2005. The episode highlighted the tensions faced by China's trade partners when concerns arise from that nation's human rights record...
, a defected Chinese diplomat, of closely collaborating with the Chinese Embassy in Canberra, even "giving suggestions to the Chinese Government on how to handle difficult political cases."
In August 2006, it was claimed by a former weapons inspector Dr John Gee
John Gee
John Laurence Gee is a prominent Mormon apologist, and Egyptologist at Brigham Young University who is known for his writings in support of the Book of Abraham.-Background:...
, that Downer had in 2004 suppressed information that the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was fundamentally flawed.
In March 2006 he said the Australian Government opposed selling uranium to India. Downer is 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 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
(NPT)." Following the conclusion of the US-India nuclear agreement, the Australian Government said it would export uranium to civil nuclear facilities in India subject to several conditions one of which was the conclusion of a bilateral safeguards agreement.
In April 2006 he appeared before the Cole Inquiry
Cole Inquiry
The Cole Inquiry, formally the Inquiry into certain Australian companies in relation to the UN Oil-For-Food Programme was a Royal Commission set up by the Government of Australia in November 2005...
regarding the oil for food scandal
AWB Oil-for-Wheat Scandal
The AWB Oil-for-Wheat Scandal refers to the payment of kickbacks to the regime of Saddam Hussein in contravention of the United Nations Oil-for-Food Humanitarian Program. AWB Limited is a major grain marketing organisation based in Australia...
and testified that he was ignorant of the kickbacks paid to the Iraq government, despite claims by the Opposition Labor Party that several warnings that had been received by his department from various sources.
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.
As Foreign Minister, Downer supported the United States Government's incarceration of two Australian citizens, David Hicks
David Hicks
David Matthew Hicks is an Australian who was convicted by the United States of America Guantanamo Military Commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, on charges of providing material support for terrorism...
and Mamdouh Habib
Mamdouh Habib
Mamdouh Habib is an Egyptian born Australian Muslim best known for his extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba, on suspicion of involvement in terrorism....
, in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
Habib was eventually released without charge. Following a plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
, Hicks was sentenced in 2007, by the military commission, for providing material support for terrorism
Providing material support for terrorism
Providing material support for terrorism is a provision of the USA PATRIOT Act which prohibits material support to groups designated as terrorists. The four types of support described are “training,” “expert advice or assistance,” “service,” and “personnel.” In June 2010 the United States Supreme...
, and was returned to Australia to serve the remaining nine months of his sentence, which expired in December 2007. As of May 2008, Hicks is the only one of the 517 foreign terror suspects held at Guantanamo to be convicted.
A major challenge for Downer was handling relations with Australia's most important neighbour, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Downer negotiated the 2006 Lombok Treaty to put security relations between the two countries on a stable footing, built bilateral co-operation to fight terrorism, people smuggling and illegal fishing. One of the recent difficulties which erupted between Australia and Indonesia was when Australia accepted a boatload of asylum seekers from Indonesia's Papua province in March 2006.
In September 2007, on the sidelines of the 2007 APEC Conference
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...
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."
Post-parliamentary career
Following the Howard GovernmentHoward Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
's defeat at the 2007 federal election, Downer declined to serve on the Opposition frontbench, amid widespread speculation that he would resign his seat and seek new employment. He informed colleagues in May 2008 that he was considering staying in politics with a view to becoming shadow treasurer under either Brendan Nelson
Brendan Nelson
Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
or Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
., but he subsequently resigned from Parliament on 14 July 2008. His resignation triggered a by-election
Mayo by-election, 2008
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Mayo on 6 September 2008, following the retirement of Liberal Party MP Alexander Downer. The by-election was held on the same day as the Lyne by-election, and the Western Australian state election.The writ for the...
in the seat of Mayo.
On 3 July 2008, the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
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. He also holds a Professorship at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
.
At about the same time, he went into partnership with Ian Smith (a former Liberal Party advisor and husband of former Australian Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
leader and Senator for South Australia Natasha Stott Despoja
Natasha Stott Despoja
Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja AM is an Australian former politician and former leader of the Australian Democrats. She was a Democrats senator for South Australia from 1995 to 2008...
) and Nick Bolkus
Nick Bolkus
Nick Bolkus is a former Australian Labor Party politician. He was a member of the Senate from July 1981 to 2005, representing the state of South Australia.-Early career:...
(a former Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
Senator for South Australia) in a boutique consultancy firm, Bespoke Approach.
Also in 2008, Downer discussed the possibility of working as a United Nations envoy to Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
with the UN Secretary-General
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to help revive the peace process. The appointment received the support of the Rudd government
Rudd Government
The Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2010, led by Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry...
, via the Foreign Minister Stephen Smith
Stephen Smith (Australian politician)
Stephen Francis Smith , is the Australian Minister for Defence. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993, representing the Division of Perth, Western Australia....
, and it took effect on 14 July 2008.
He has a number of board appointments, including the Advisory Board of British strategic intelligence and advisory firm Hakluyt & Company
Hakluyt & Company
Hakluyt & Company is a British strategic intelligence and advisory firm. The company was founded in 1995 by Christopher James and Mike Reynolds. James retired in mid-2006, and was replaced as managing director by Keith Craig...
, Merchant Bankers Cappello Capital Corp., the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra was founded as a 17 player radio ensemble in 1936, in Adelaide, South Australia. The orchestra reformed in 1949 as the 55 member South Australian Symphony Orchestra. It reverted to its original and present title, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, in late 1974, and...
, and the board of Huawei
Huawei
Huawei is a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China...
in Australia.
A longtime supporter of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy is a group that aims to preserve Australia's current constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II as Queen of Australia...
, Downer has played a leading role opposing moves to replace the Queen with a president
Republicanism in Australia
Republicanism in Australia is a movement to change Australia's status as a constitutional monarchy to a republican form of government. Such sentiments have been expressed in Australia from before federation onward to the present...
.
Personal life
Alexander Downer is married to Nicky (née Nicola Rosemary Robinson), who is a leading identity in the arts community and was appointed a Member of the Order of AustraliaOrder of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
in 2005 for her service to the arts. They have four children, Georgina, Olivia, Edward, and Henrietta.