Angus Houston

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Angus Houston (2009)

Air Chief Marshal Allan Grant Angus Houston (born June 9, 1947 in Ayrshire , Scotland , United Kingdom ) is a retired Australian officer in the Royal Australian Air Force .

Career

Houston was 193 cm tall at the age of 18, which is why he was rejected as too tall for service in the British Royal Air Force . He wanted to succeed his father here, who was shot down over Belgium in World War II . At the age of 21, Houston emigrated from his Scottish homeland to Australia. He first worked in a train station in Western Australia , where one day he saw an advertising poster for the Australian Air Force. In 1970 he joined the Royal Australian Air Force and became a helicopter pilot. Because of his Scottish origins, his comrades gave him the nickname "Angus". The name stayed with him.

His tasks during his military career included aerial mapping, the work as a flight instructor and sea rescue operations. In 2001 he was named Chief of the Air Force. In this capacity, he oversaw military operations in East Timor , Iraq and Afghanistan . On July 4, 2005, he was appointed Chief of the Defense Force. He held this post until his retirement on July 4, 2011.

Angus Houston at a press conference for the Joint Agency Coordination Center (2014)

In 2012, Houston chaired the Panel of Experts on Asylum Seekers. In July 2014, he was appointed the Prime Minister's Special Representative to lead Australia's efforts to recover, identify and repatriate the Australians killed in the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash . Houston also ran the Joint Agency Coordination Center, which coordinated the Australian Government's assistance in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370 in 2014.

Houston has been working with the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) in Australia since 2011 . He was Chairman of the QMNI Board of Trustees and was involved in founding the Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience-Thompson Institute. Houston has been USC Chancellor since 2017.

Houston chairs Airservices Australia , the Defense South Australia Advisory Board, the Council of the Order of Australia , the Victorian Police Corporate Advisory Group, the Canberra Advisory Board of the University of NSW, and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. He is also a board member of the Lowy Institute for International Policy, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, the Anzac Centenary Public Fund Board, and the Greater Good Canberra. Houston is also a visiting fellow of the Australian National University National Security College and the South Australian Special Envoy on International Trade and Investment, and a patron of many nonprofit organizations.

Awards

In 1980 Houston was awarded the Air Force Cross for rescuing three sailors from the stormy seas off New South Wales . In 2011, East Timor’s President José Ramos-Horta awarded him the Medal des Ordem de Timor-Leste .

Houston was voted Australian Father of the Year in 2011 and ACT Australian of the year in 2012. On January 26, 2015, he was named Knight of the Order of Australia for his services in investigating MH 17 and MH 370.

Houston was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of New South Wales in November 2015 . In December 2016, he received an honorary doctorate in law from the Australian National University.

Private

Houston has three sons and three grandchildren with his wife Liz.

Web links

Commons : Angus Houston  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e ABC: The aerial view: how Angus Houston took to the skies , August 18, 2017 , accessed November 8, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b c d Australian of the Year: 2012 ACT Australian of the Year: Angus Houston AC AFC (Ret'd) , accessed November 8, 2019.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Chancellor Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston AK, AFC (Ret'd) , accessed November 9, 2019.
  4. ^ Ministerial and Executive Coordination and Communication: Chief of Defense Force receives Order of Timor Leste , February 11, 2011 ( memento of April 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on April 7, 2014.
  5. ↑ ORDER OF AUSTRALIA , accessed on November 8, 2019.
  6. ^ Australian Strategic Policy Institute: Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston AK, AFC (Ret'd) , accessed November 8, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Houston, Angus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Houston, Allan Grant (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian Air Force officer
DATE OF BIRTH June 9, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Ayrshire , Scotland , United Kingdom