Jan Elizabeth Adams

Jan Elizabeth Adams AO PSM
Born	1963 (age 53–54)
Alma mater	Monash University BEc (Hons), LLB (Hons)
Occupation	Public servant, diplomat
Children	one son

Jan Elizabeth Adams AO, PSM (born 1963) is an Australian diplomat.

Adams, born in 1963, studied economics and law at Monash University in Melbourne. She completed her economics studies in 1986 with a Bachelor of Economics (honours). In 1988 she worked at the Trade Directorate of the OECD in Paris, before returning to Monash University to complete her law studies in 1992 with a Bachelor of Laws (honours). Her Laws honours thesis was on the topic ‘Applying the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to Environmental Law and Policy’.

During her undergraduate studies, Adams focused on the governance of international trade. She worked as a research assistant to Professor Richard H. Snape in the Department of Economics at Monash University, particularly on the study Regional Trade Agreements: Implications and Options for Australia, which was published in 1993 by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Adams worked as an Adviser to the Australian Minister for Trade (1993-1994) and Minister for Industry, Science and Technology (1994-1996), Senator Peter Cook. She returned to Paris to work in the Environment Directorate of the OECD during 1996-1998, where she wrote studies on trade and environment issues. In 1999 she worked briefly as a consultant on foreign investment and the environment.

Adams joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in 1999 as Assistant Secretary of the APEC Branch. She subsequently served as Minister Counsellor for Trade at the Australian Embassy in Washington during 2000-2004. In that capacity she was involved in negotiations leading to the Australia-US FTA. Following the completion of the negotiations, she led the Australian advocacy campaign in the USA for the FTA. This contributed to overwhelming Congressional support for the FTA, which entered into force in 2005.

Adams' held positions in DFAT in Canberra, Australia, as First Assistant Secretary in the Free Trade Agreement Division (2009-2013) and Deputy Secretary (2013-2015). In the first position she was lead negotiator for Australia during the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with respectively China, Japan, South Korea and India. In the latter position she took a leading role for Australia in the ongoing negotiations about the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA).

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