Source: foreignminister.gov.au · 31 March 2014 (archived extract 2026-09-09)
Today I announce the appointment of the Honourable Alexander Downer AC as Australia's next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Mr Downer has had a long and distinguished political career in Australia, and was until recently the United Nations Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus.
He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1976 and served at the Australian Embassy in Belgium before moving into politics. Elected to the Federal Parliament in 1984 (Liberal member for Mayo in South Australia), he held this seat until his retirement from Parliament in July 2008. He served as Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, from 1996 to 2007, making him Australia's longest-serving Foreign Minister.
Mr Downer was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2013 and was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001.
He is expected to take up his appointment in May 2014.
— Julie Bishop, Minister for Foreign Affairs