Peter Joseph Noozhumurry Varghese, (born 19 March 1956) is an Australian retired diplomat and
public servant. He was 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 ...
of the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 3 December 2012 to 22 July 2016.
He announced in November 2015 that he would leave the position in July 2016 to become the chancellor of the
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
.
Early life and education
Varghese was born in
Kenya
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, capital = Nairobi
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...
to ethnic
Asian Indian
Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred t ...
parents of
Nasrani Malayalee
The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are predomin ...
origin. He emigrated to Australia as a child in 1964, first moving to Newcastle and two years later heading to Brisbane. He studied history and graduated from the
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
with a
university medal
A University Medal is one of several types of award conferred by universities upon outstanding students or members of staff. The usage and status of university medals differ between countries and between universities.
As award on graduation
Many ...
.
Career
Varghese's first diplomatic posting was at the Australian Embassy in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
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from 1980 to 1983. His second overseas posting was at the
Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C.
The Embassy of Australia in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of the Commonwealth of Australia to the United States. The chancery is temporarily located in the National Geographic Building at 1145 17th Street NW. This temporary location w ...
from 1986 to 1988. From 1989 to 1990, Varghese was a
speechwriter
A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are employed by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors. They can also b ...
to
Foreign Minister Gareth Evans.
Varghese's first Senior Executive Service appointment within the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was as the Assistant Secretary of the Staffing Branch from 1991 to 1992. In 1994 he was posted to the Australian Embassy in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
. He was then the First Assistant Secretary of the Public Affairs Division from 1994 to 1996.
As Head of the White Paper Secretariat from 1996 to 1997, Varghese led the drafting of Australia’s first white paper on foreign and trade policy. He was appointed the First Assistant Secretary of the International Security Division in 1997 and then seconded to the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as First Assistant Secretary of the International Division from 1998 to 1999.
In 2000, Varghese was appointed the
Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia and served until 2002. He then served as Deputy Secretary of the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2002 to 2003.
Varghese was then appointed as Senior Adviser (International) to
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
from 2003 to 2004.
From 2004 to 2009, Varghese was Director-General of the
Office of National Assessments
The Office of National Assessments (ONA) was an Australian statutory intelligence agency established by the ''Office of National Assessments Act 1977'' as an independent statutory body directly accountable to the Prime Minister of Australia as ...
, an Australian government intelligence agency which reports directly to the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
.
From August 2009 to October 2012, Varghese was the
Australian High Commissioner to India, with concurrent accreditation to
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
.
Varghese was then appointed the Secretary of the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in December 2012, serving until July 2016.
When the
Abbott Government took office in September 2013, Varghese had to oversee the integration of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with
Australian Agency for International Development. It was announced on 24 November 2015 that he would be stepping down from the position in July 2016 to take on an appointment as chancellor of the University of Queensland.
In 2016 Varghese joined the board of directors at
AMP Limited
AMP is a financial services company in Australia and New Zealand providing superannuation and investment products, financial advice, and banking products (through AMP Banking) including home loans and savings accounts. Its headquarters is in Syd ...
. His cousin Jacob was hired as a lawyer by the firm taking action against the AMP with regards to financial misconduct.
Honours
In 2010, Varghese was appointed an
Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to public administration, particularly in leading reform in the Australian intelligence community and as an adviser in the areas of foreign policy and international security.
Varghese was conferred with a
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...
''
honoris causa'' by the University of Queensland in July 2013 in recognition of his distinguished service to diplomacy and
Australian Public Service.
Personal life
Varghese is married and has an adult son.
Notes
References and further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varghese, Peter
1956 births
Australian people of Indian descent
Living people
Australian historians
Australian people of Malayali descent
Australian public servants
Malayali people
University of Queensland alumni
Officers of the Order of Australia
High Commissioners of Australia to Malaysia
High Commissioners of Australia to India
Ambassadors of Australia to Bhutan
Kenyan emigrants to Australia
Kenyan people of Indian descent