Gordon John de Brouwer is a senior Australian public servant serving as the

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

for Public Sector Reform since June 22, 2022 under the Albanese Government. He was previously

of the

Department of the Environment and Energy The Department of the Environment and Energy (DEE) was an Australian government department in existence between 2016 and 2020. The department was responsible for matters including environment protection and conservation of biodiversity as well ...

from 2016 to 2017.

Career

Academia

de Brouwer was Professor of Economics in the Crawford School of Economics and Government at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

, from January 2000 to March 2004. This included a period as Executive Director of the Australia-Japan Research Centre and Director of the School's Research Committee. De Brouwer was also a member of the University's research program on Japan’s Economy and Government and on Korea’s Economy and Government. De Brouwer remains an adjunct professor with the ANU.

Public service

De Brouwer was appointed Secretary of the Department of the Environment in September 2013 after previously serving in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. De Brouwer was the Associate Secretary in the Domestic Policy Group at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet under the

Rudd Government Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) * Rudd government (2013) {{Dab ... * Rudd gov ...

. In this position, de Brouwer provided departmental and cross-government policy advice to the Prime Minister on domestic policy and

G20 The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigatio ...

matters and was also the senior official representing Australia’s interests in the G20. Dr de Brouwer played a key role in the development of Australia's $42 billion economic stimulus package. Former secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Terry Moran, stated in his witness statement to the Home Insulation Royal Commission that de Brouwer was given primary responsibility for devising environmental initiatives and presenting them to Cabinet, including the

Energy Efficient Homes Package The Energy Efficient Homes Package was an Australian government program implemented by the Rudd Government. It was designed by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and was administered by the Department of the Environment, Water, He ...

that included the Home Insulation Program that resulted in the deaths of four installers. de Brouwer also led the Australian delegation to the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference. de Brouwer was appointed as Australia's

sherpa Sherpa may refer to: Ethnography * Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal * Sherpa language Organizations and companies * Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility * ...

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

. It was reported in

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...

cables that De Brouwer lamented to his contacts in the US Embassy that "PM&C foreign policy staff have been run ragged answering the PM's (Rudd's) queries and supporting his interaction with foreign officials. De Brouwer became the President of the Institute of Public Administration (IPAA) ACT Division on 9 June 2016 until his retirement as Secretary, then took on the role as National President of IPAA in September 2019. De Brouwer was appointed Secretary for Public Sector Reform for a 2-year term on 22 June 2022 under

Katy Gallagher Katherine Ruth Gallagher (born 18 March 1970) is an Australian politician who has been serving as the Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Minister for the Public Service and Vice-President of the Executive Council in the Albanese Gove ...

as Minister for the Public Service.

Awards and honours

De Brouwer studied in Japan in 1987-89 and 1994 with support from the Monbusho and Japan Foundation scholarships. De Brouwer was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2011 for outstanding public service in the development of international economic policy, particularly in the formulation of the Australian Government's agenda to establish the G20 as the pre-eminent global economic forum. In 2015, de Brouwer was awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

by the French Government. In 2017, de Brouwer was awarded a National Fellowship of the Institute of Public Administration Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Brouwer, Gordon Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Australian public servants Recipients of the Public Service Medal (Australia) Australian National University alumni University of Melbourne alumni Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Academic staff of the Australian National University