Robert William Furlonger (28 April 1921 – 19 January 2019) was an Australian public servant and

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 ...

. He was an Australian Ambassador to Indonesia (1972–1975), Australian Ambassador to Austria and Hungary (1975–1977) and the first Director-General of the Office of National Assessments (1977–1981).

Career

Furlonger 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 G ...

in 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 1945 as a cadet. His cadetship was for two-years and included him being given a project researching the

Free France Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

movement. In December 1961 Furlonger was appointed the Australian Consul-General at Geneva and the Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations Office in Geneva. From 1972 to 1975 Furlonger was Australian Ambassador to Indonesia. During his post to Indonesia, he hosted the Prime Minister of Australia,

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, t ...

in Jakarta, Indonesia. . Between 1975 and 1977 Furlonger was Ambassador to Austria. He was the first Director-General of the Office of National Assessments, from 1977 to 1981. Furlonger retired in 1981.

Awards

Furlonger was made a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in the

1981 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1981 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate t ...

for his public service including as Director-General of the Office of National Assessments.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furlonger, Robert 1921 births 2019 deaths Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath High Commissioners of Australia to Nigeria Ambassadors of Australia to Austria Ambassadors of Australia to Hungary Ambassadors of Australia to Indonesia Ambassadors of Australia to Czechoslovakia Australian expatriates in Switzerland