Evan John Williams (born. 1950) is a retired Australian diplomat and public servant who served as the Administrator of the

Australian Indian Ocean Territories The Australian Indian Ocean Territories is the name since 1995 of an administrative unit under the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, consisting of two island groups in the ...

from 1 November 2003 until 31 October 2005.

Early career

Evan Williams grew up in the Blue Mountains of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and was educated at Katoomba High School, graduating in 1968, the first graduating year of the Wyndham Scheme. Williams holds a BA from

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

and a

Master of Letters The Master of Letters degree (MLitt or LittM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. Ireland Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University offer MLitt degrees. Trinity has offered them the longest, owing largely to its tradition as Ireland ...

from

University of New England, Australia The University of New England (UNE) is a public university in Australia with approximately 22,500 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern central New South Wales. UNE was the firs ...

. Williams joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade upon leaving university and took postings in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

Dar-es-Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

and

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. In 1989 Williams was appointed Consul-General and Counsellor in Jakarta, which was followed by appointments in this position in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

(1994–1996) and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(1998–2002). From 1992 to 1994 he directed in the Trade Negotiation Division and was Director of the Management Strategy and Coordination Unit (1997–1998).

Later career

As Director in the Overseas Property Office from 2002, Williams was appointed in late 2003 as the Administrator of the

, which incorporates

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

and the

Cocos (Keeling) Islands ) , anthem = "''Advance Australia Fair''" , song_type = , song = , image_map = Australia on the globe (Cocos (Keeling) Islands special) (Southeast Asia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , map_caption = ...

. As administrator on Cocos, Williams was responsible for proclaiming the adoption of the official flag of the territory on 6 April 2004. Serving until 2005, Williams returned to DFAT and was Director of Consular Operations until 2007, and was appointed High Commissioner to Cyprus on 30 April 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Evan Living people 1950 births People from Katoomba, New South Wales Christmas Island administrators University of New England (Australia) alumni Australian National University alumni High Commissioners of Australia to Cyprus