John Edmund Ryan (13 March 1923 – 9 February 1987) was an Australian diplomat and public servant.

Early life, education and military service

Ryan was born in Bondi,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1923. He was educated in Canberra at St Christopher's School, and later attended

St Patrick's College, Goulburn (If you do something, do it well) , status = Closed , established = , closed = 2000 (merged into Trinity Catholic College, Goulburn) , city = Goulburn , state = New South Wales , country = Australia , campus = , coor ...

on a bursary. He enrolled at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 1941, but only completed the first year of an arts degree before enlisting in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

on 9 January 1942. He served as a corporal with the 2/7th Independent Company in New Guinea until March 1943 when he was selected for officer training at the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state = ...

. Due to the war, he completed a shortened version of the training, during which he was injured in a transport accident.

Diplomatic career

Ryan was discharged from the AIF in 1946, and later that year, joined the Department of External Affairs. He served as High Commissioner to Ghana (1965–67) and Ambassador to Laos (1968–69), then Ambassador to Italy (1974–77) and High Commissioner to Canada (1977–80).

Public service

In 1980, Ryan returned to Canberra and became deputy secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs. In October 1981, he was appointed acting

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 ...

. In late 1983, a bungled ASIS training exercise known as the Sheraton Hotel incident occurred, in which armed ASIS officers conducted a mock hostage rescue in a Melbourne hotel without the knowledge or permission of the hotel management or

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victo ...

. Ryan resigned from ASIS in December 1983, and the incident was reviewed by the second Hope Royal Commission, which criticised Ryan and his role in the operation. He retired from the public service in May 1984. Ryan died of

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

on 9 February 1987 in Canberra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, John 1923 births 1987 deaths Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian Army officers Australian Army personnel of World War II Ambassadors of Australia to Brazil Ambassadors of Australia to Italy Ambassadors of Australia to Laos Directors-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service High Commissioners of Australia to Canada High Commissioners of Australia to Ghana Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates University of Melbourne alumni Deaths from lymphoma in Australia Deaths from cancer in the Australian Capital Territory People educated at St Patrick's College, Goulburn