Richard Arthur Woolcott (born 11 June 1927) is a retired Australian public servant, diplomat, author and commentator.

Early years

Woolcott was educated at

Geelong Grammar School , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"( 1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ...

, Cranbrook School and 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 no ...

, before becoming a member of the Australian Diplomatic Service. Woolcott's first posting in the diplomatic service was as Third Secretary in the Australian Embassy Moscow. Woolcott married Danish-born Birgit Christensen in London, England in July 1952 and the couple moved to Moscow shortly after the wedding. During the posting which lasted until 1954,

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

died in March 1953.

Later career

In 1967, Woolcott drafted a speech for Prime Minister Harold Holt that said Australia was geographically part of Asia and that it was "a basic tenet of our national policy to live in friendship and understanding with our Asian neighbours". Between 1967 and 1970, Woolcott was Australian High Commissioner to Ghana. In the role, he regularly visited

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's ...

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Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

, Libreville,

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

, Conakry and

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger Rive ...

. From 1975 to 1978 he was Australia's Ambassador to Indonesia, at the time of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. In a series of oft-cited and highly influential cables throughout his ambassadorship, he urged his country to take a 'pragmatic' or 'Kissingerian' approach to the Indonesian incorporation of East Timor, largely due to the importance of the Suharto regime to Australia's strategic and foreign policy goals and its relations with ASEAN and the region, although also informed by the under-sea oil resources that Australia was claiming close to Timor. Subsequently, Woolcott was appointed Australia's Ambassador to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

(between 1978 and 1982). US cables leaked by Wikileaks reveal that Woolcott had been an informant to the US, providing consular officials with information of internal government processes during 1974. He was the Australian Ambassador to the United Nations from 1982 to 1988, and served as the President of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

for Australia's term in November 1985. Woolcott also served as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the most senior diplomatic position in Australia, from 1988 to 1992. As DFAT Secretary, he was involved in the establishment of the

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

(APEC) forum. On 4 June 2008, Australian Prime Minister

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 ...

announced that Woolcott had been appointed as an envoy to conduct discussions to form a new Asian regional forum. Since 1997, Woolcott has been the Founding Director of the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre. In 2003 Woolcott wrote a personal memoir entitled ''The Hot Seat: Reflections on Diplomacy from Stalin’s Death to the Bali Bombings'', and he also wrote a book called ''Undiplomatic Activities'' in 2007.

Personal life

Richard Woolcott is a supporter of the

Australian Republican Movement The Australian Republic Movement (ARM) is a non-party-partisan organisation campaigning for Australia to become a republic. ARM and its supporters have promoted various models of a republic including parliamentary republic and it is, again, revi ...

, and gave the Inaugural National Republican Lecture in 2003. Woolcott's wife of 56-years, Birgit, died from lung cancer in 2008. The couple's son,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, is also a diplomat and has served as the ambassador to Italy.

Awards and honours

For his services to diplomacy and international relations, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1985, and advanced to a Companion of the Order in 1993. In July 2008, Richard Woolcott was selected as one of the inaugural fellows of the

Australian Institute of International Affairs The Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) is an Australian research institute and think tank which focuses on International relations. It publishes the ''Australian Journal of International Affairs''. It is one of the oldest act ...

to highlight his very high level of distinction in and distinguished contribution to Australia's international affairs. Also that year, Woolcott was awarded the Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop Asia Medal, in recognition of his contribution to Australia's relationships with Asia.

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolcott, Richard 1927 births Living people Permanent Representatives of Australia to the United Nations University of Melbourne alumni Companions of the Order of Australia Ambassadors of Australia to Indonesia Ambassadors of Australia to the Philippines High Commissioners of Australia to Malaysia High Commissioners of Australia to Singapore High Commissioners of Australia to Ghana People educated at Geelong Grammar School