Richard Butler (diplomat)

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Richard William Butler AC (born May 13, 1942 in Coolah , Australia ) is an Australian diplomat and former governor of Tasmania .

Life

Butler grew up in Sydney and studied at the University of Sydney and the Australian National University in Canberra . In 1963 he married Susan Ryan , who would later become a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory ; In 1972 the marriage was divorced. In 2003 he married Jennifer Gray.

From 1965, Butler held various positions within the Australian State Department. In 1983 he was sent by the new Prime Minister Bob Hawke to represent Australia in the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (the predecessor of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs ) in Geneva . He then became Australian Ambassador to Thailand and Cambodia and from 1992 to 1997 Ambassador to the UN. In 1997 he became head of the United Nations Special Commission from Kofi Annan , which was supposed to oversee the destruction of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq after the Second Gulf War .

In August 2003 he was appointed the next governor of Tasmania. At the same time he was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia , the highest civilian honor in Australia. The newspaper The Age of Melbourne was critical of his appointment as governor, as Butler Tasmania would hardly know and his Republican views would not fit the office of the representative of the British Crown. Even after he took office, the criticism of him did not end. In early August 2004, the leader of the opposition in the Tasmanian Parliament, Rene Hidding , distanced himself from him and members of the Australian Parliament also criticized him. Additionally, three long-time Government House employees resigned due to difficulties in working with Butler and his wife. A little later, Butler announced his resignation on August 9, justifying this with a "vicious campaign" that was ongoing against him.

Butler is now visiting professor at New York University and Penn State University .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On Her Majesty's Service, Mr. Butler. The Age , August 20, 2003, accessed November 23, 2011 .
  2. ^ A b Furious Butler quits as governor. The Sydney Morning Herald , August 10, 2004, accessed November 23, 2011 .
  3. ^ Website with the résumé of Butler. Penn State University , accessed November 23, 2011 .
personal data
SURNAME Butler, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Butler, Richard William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian diplomat, Governor of Tasmania
DATE OF BIRTH May 13, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Coolah , Australia