Malcolm Richard Booker (9 August 191515 July 1998) was an Australian public servant,

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 ...

, author and journalist. He held diplomatic posts as an Ambassador in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

(1962–1963),

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(1970–1974) and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

(1974–1976). He was also Chargé d'Affaires in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

from 1952 to 1953. After his diplomatic career he published several books and wrote regularly for ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

''.

Life and career

As a young man, Booker served as private secretary to

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

, the former prime minister. He later became one of Hughes' biographers, publishing ''The Great Professional: A Study of W.M. Hughes'' in 1980. While on posting to Manila as first secretary from 1950 to 1952, Booker met Roxana. The pair became engaged, celebrating their betrothal at a party on the peak in Hong Kong. From 1952 to 1953, Booker was Chargé d'Affaires in Burma, responsible for establishing the legation. He returned to Canberra in April 1953. In 1962, Booker was appointed Australian Ambassador to Thailand. When he returned to Canberra in 1963, Booker was appointed Deputy Head of the Department of Territories. He soon returned to the external affairs department, taking a position as first assistant secretary, Level 3. Booker was Australian Ambassador to Italy from 1970 to 1974. In March 1974 Booker was appointed the Australian Ambassador to Yugoslavia, with simultaneous appointments as the non-resident Ambassador to Romania and Bulgaria. Booker's book ''The Last Domino'' was published in 1976. The book was critical of several previous Australian foreign affairs ministers and the 1975

Whitlam dismissal The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, also known simply as the Dismissal, culminated on 11 November 1975 with the dismissal from office of the prime minister, Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), by Governor-General Sir Jo ...

. Booker died on 15 July 1998.

Works

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Life and career

Works

References

Further reading