Gary Francis Quinlan (born 11 March 1951) is an Australian diplomat and public servant, who served as the

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

from 2018 to 2021. He has previously served as High Commissioner to Singapore and as the Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations, including two terms as

President of the United Nations Security Council The presidency of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for leading the United Nations Security Council. It rotates among the 15 member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the President of t ...

Early life

Born on 9 February 1951, Quinlan was educated at the University of Newcastle and graduated in 1972 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in history with honours.

Diplomatic career

Quinlan joined the then Department of Foreign Affairs in 1973 and served in several senior positions in the Department in Canberra including First Assistant Secretary, Consular, Public Diplomacy and Parliamentary Affairs Division (2007) and First Assistant Secretary, Americas and Europe Division (2000–01). He was Head of the Australian Delegation to the Law of the Sea Preparatory Commission from 1987 until 1988. Quinlan's overseas assignments have been as Second Secretary in Dublin (1974–77), First Secretary, Australian Mission to the United Nations, New York (1981–85), Australian Deputy Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Paris (1979–81) and was attached to the Economic Development Institute,

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

in Washington D.C. (1984). Quinlan served as Chief of Staff to the Minister for Trade (1993–94) and Minister for Industry, Science and Technology (1994–96),

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

, and more recently served as Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Embassy Washington DC (2005–07) and High Commissioner to Singapore (2001–05). From 2007, until his appointment as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in 2009, Quinlan was the Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Defence, and National Security. Following his return from the United Nations in New York in 2014, Quinlan became Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was tasked with the role of Australia's chief negotiator with

Timor-Leste East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...

over the East Timor maritime boundary dispute. The two parties reached an amicable agreement in February 2018, immediately before Quinlan was appointed as Australia's Ambassador to Indonesia.

Honours

Quinlan holds the honorary degree of

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

(Hon DLitt, 2007) from the University of Newcastle. In the

2016 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for "distinguished service to public administration in the field of international relations as a senior diplomat and ambassador, and as an advisor to government on foreign policy."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinlan, Gary Living people 1951 births Permanent Representatives of Australia to the United Nations University of Newcastle (Australia) alumni High Commissioners of Australia to Singapore Ambassadors of Australia to Indonesia Australian diplomats Officers of the Order of Australia