Keith Gabriel Brennan (25 March 191516 January 1985) was an Australian

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and public servant. Born on 25 March 1915 in

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

, Brennan was the youngest of five children. He was schooled at

St Patrick's College, East Melbourne St Patrick's College was an independent Catholic school in Melbourne, Victoria from 1854 until 1968. It was the second independent school and the first Catholic Church, Catholic secondary education in Australia, secondary school in Victoria founde ...

, before studying part time for a Bachelor of Laws at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. He joined the

Commonwealth 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 Go ...

in the

Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is org ...

in 1940. Brennan transferred to 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 ...

in 1947. His early overseas postings were to the United States and Japan. In 1972 he relocated to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

to serve as Australian Ambassador to Ireland. His time in Ireland was cut short when in 1974

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

decided to send

Vince Gair Vincent Clair Gair (25 February 190111 November 1980) was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of Queensland from 1952 until 1957, when his stormy relations with the trade union movement saw him expelled from the Labor Party. He was e ...

to the post for domestic political reasons. Brennan and his wife were moved to Switzerland and he took on the role of Australian Ambassador to Switzerland. Brennan spent seven years living in Berne, representing Australia at several important international law conventions, including the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 c ...

. While he was resident in Berne, Brennan's wife, Suzanne, whom he had married on 3 April 1945, died on 25 October 1977. In 1983 Brennan was accepted as a candidate for priesthood by Archbishop of Adelaide

James Gleeson James Timothy Gleeson (21 November 1915 – 20 October 2008) was an Australian artist. He served on the board of the National Gallery of Australia. Early life Gleeson was born in the Sydney district of Hornsby in 1915 and attended East Sydn ...

. Brennan died in Adelaide on 16 January 1985.

Officer of the Order of Australia

Brennan was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday 1979 Honours for his public service as a diplomat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Keith 1915 births 1985 deaths Ambassadors of Australia to Ireland Ambassadors of Australia to Switzerland University of Melbourne alumni Officers of the Order of Australia Australian Roman Catholic priests People from Hawthorn, Victoria Public servants from Melbourne