Ashton Trevor Calvert, (9 November 1945 – 16 November 2007) was a senior Australian public servant. He was

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

of the

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and inv ...

from April 1998 to January 2005.

Early life

Ashton Calvert was born on 9 November 1945 in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. He was the great-grandchild of William Calvert, a free settler to Tasmania who had arrived on the island in 1832. Calvert attended Hobart High School and then the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

. As a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, he went on to attend the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, attaining a doctorate in mathematics. During his time at Oxford, Calvert was the president-cox of the Oxford rowing team.

Career

Calvert joined the

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

in 1970 in the

Department of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

(later Department of Foreign Affairs). His first overseas post was to Japan in 1971, where he spent four years. In October 1993, after nearly two years as a staffer in then Prime Minister

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...

's office, Calvert was appointed

Australian Ambassador to Japan The Ambassador of Australia to Japan is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the Embassy of the Commonwealth of Australia to Japan. The position has the rank and status of an Ambassador Extraordin ...

. Calvert was appointed

of the

in April 1998. During his time as Secretary of the department, Calvert made significant contributions to the

Doha Development Round The Doha Development Round or Doha Development Agenda (DDA) is the trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which commenced in November 2001 under then director-general Mike Moore. Its objective was to lower trade barriers a ...

trade negotiations and helped to secure a deal to launch negotiations for a free trade agreement between Australia, New Zealand and the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

(since concluded). Calvert retired from his Secretary role in January 2005. Calvert joined the Rio Tinto Board with effect from 1 February 2005. In August 2005 he was appointed to the Woodside Petroleum Board. He resigned from both boards in November 2007 due to illness, after a medical diagnosis of aggressive cancer.

Awards and honours

Calvert was made a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in January 2003 for service to the development of Australian foreign policy, including advancement of business relations between Australia and Japan, and for leadership and highly distinguished contributions to Australia's overall economic and security interests at critical times in the international environment. In 2009, a street in the

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

suburb of Casey was named Ashton Calvert Street to honour Calvert.

Death

On 16 November 2007, in Canberra, Calvert died from cancer at age 62.

Notes

References and further reading

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Calvert, Ashton 1945 births 2007 deaths Ambassadors of Australia to Japan Australian Rhodes Scholars Deaths from cancer in the Australian Capital Territory Companions of the Order of Australia People from Hobart Recipients of the Centenary Medal