David Taylor Irvine, (10 January 1947 – 30 March 2022) was an Australian diplomat who, from March 2009 to September 2014, was the

Director-General of Security The Director-General of Security is the executive officer of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Australia's national security agency. The Director-General, through ASIO, has overall responsibility for the protection of th ...

, the head of the

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is Australia's national security agency responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically motivated vio ...

(ASIO). Prior to his appointment to ASIO, he was

Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service The Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service is the executive officer of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), Australia's foreign intelligence agency. The Director-General of ASIS is directly responsible to the ...

(ASIS) from 2003 to 2009.McDonald, Hamish
Puppet-master now pulling the strings at ASIS
''The Age'', 20 February 2003. In 2017 he was unexpectedly appointed Chair of the

Foreign Investment Review Board The Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), "examines proposals by foreign persons to invest in Australia and makes recommendations to the Treasurer on those subject to the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 and Australia's for ...

despite having no professional investment or business experience.

Education and career

Irvine was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, and studied at

Hale School Hale School is an independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Named after the school founded by Bishop Mathew Blagden Hale in 1858, Hale School claims to b ...

and the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

, graduating with honours in Elizabethan history. He worked as a journalist in Perth, and joined the Department of External Affairs (the Australian foreign service) in 1970, and serving as a diplomat in Rome (1970–1973) later in Jakarta (1976–1980). Other diplomatic appointments included postings as a Counsellor (later Minister) in Beijing (1982–1986) and Minister in Jakarta (1988–1990). In 1996 to 1999 Irvine served as Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, and was Australian Ambassador to China from 2000 to 2003. Irvine wrote two books about Indonesia: a 1990 English translation of ''Bisma: Warrior Priest of the Mahabharata'' by Satyagraha Hurip, and ''Leather Gods & Wooden Heroes: Java's Classical Wayang'' (1996; about Indonesian

Wayang , also known as ( jv, ꦮꦪꦁ, translit=wayang), is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as . Perfor ...

shadow puppets). Irvine died in

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 ...

on 30 March 2022 after a period of illness and a stroke, aged 75.

Honours

Irvine was appointed an

Officer 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 June 2005.Australian Honours
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, David 1947 births 2022 deaths Directors-General of Security Directors-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service Officers of the Order of Australia University of Western Australia alumni People educated at Hale School People from Perth, Western Australia High Commissioners of Australia to Papua New Guinea Ambassadors of Australia to China Ambassadors of Australia to Mongolia 21st-century Australian public servants 20th-century Australian public servants