The Role of the Special Envoy

Hosted by: AIIA Act Branch

The event will start on: Wednesday, 17 November 2010 5:30 PM

And will end on: Wednesday, 17 November 2010 7:00 PM

At Stephen House, Canberra

32 Thesiger Court, Deakin , Canberra ACT

6232 4978     act.branch@aiia.asn.au

Posted by: act   

Special Envoy is an impressive title, implying a direct channel of communication between heads of government on an issue of central importance.

 No living Australian is better qualified to expound on the use of this explicitly special form of diplomacy than Richard Woolcott. In his long and distinguished career, Mr Woolcott undertook the role of special envoy for Prime Ministers Holt, Hawke, Howard and Rudd. The issues ranged from the Vietnam War through to the current thinking about the concept of an Asia-Pacific Community.

 In a significant address to the ACT Branch of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Mr Woolcott will use examples from his experience to explore the use, and perhaps occasionally the abuse, of the special envoy mechanism. When should a special envoy be used and when not? What are the requirements of the role? What should a special envoy be expected to do that cannot be done by the existing machinery?

Richard Woolcott’s career as an Australian diplomat was capped but did not end with his period as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs from 1988 to 1992. Since leaving full-time government service he has been at various times Chair of the Australia-Indonesia Institute, a member of the advisory panel on Australia’s first Foreign policy white paper and most recently special envoy to develop an Asia Pacific Community concept. He was present at the birth of APEC and represented Australia on the United Nations Security Council when Australia was last a member of that body in 1985-86. As well being a companion of the Order of Australia, Richard Woolcott has been awarded the Bintang Mahaputra Utama by the Government of Indonesia. In 2008 he was made an inaugural fellow of the AIIA.

 Admission is free for AIIA members, $10 for guests, payable at the door.

Please RSVP by 16 November by registering on the events page at www.aiia.asn.au, by emailing act.branch@aiia.asn.au or by calling 6232 4978