Richard Woolcott
|
Richard Woolcott AC |
|
|---|---|
| Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs | |
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In office 1988–1992 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Richard Arthur Woolcott 11 June 1927 |
| Nationality |
 Australian |
| Spouse(s) | Birgit Christensen (m. 1952; d. 2008) |
| Children | Peter, Robert and Anna |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
| Occupation | Public servant, diplomat and author |
Richard Arthur "Dick" Woolcott, AC (born 11 June 1927) is a retired Australian public servant, diplomat, author and commentator.
Woolcott was educated at Geelong Grammar School, Cranbrook School and the University of Melbourne, 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 died in March 1953.
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, Nouakchott, Dakar, Libreville, Monrovia, Abidjan, Lomé, Conakry and Bamako. From 1975 to 1978 he was Australia's Ambassador to Indonesia, at the time of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. Subsequently, Woolcott was appointed Australia's Ambassador to the Philippines (between 1978 and 1982).
He was the Australian Ambassador to the United Nations from 1982 to 1988, and served as the President of the United Nations Security Council 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 (APEC) forum. On 4 June 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that Woolcott had been appointed as an envoy to conduct discussions to form a new Asian regional forum.
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