Alexander Downer

Alexander Downer
Official portrait, 2014
Leader of the Opposition
In office
23 May 1994 – 30 January 1995
Prime MinisterPaul Keating
DeputyPeter Costello
Preceded byJohn Hewson
Succeeded byJohn Howard
Leader of the Liberal Party
In office
23 May 1994 – 30 January 1995
DeputyPeter Costello
Preceded byJohn Hewson
Succeeded byJohn Howard
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
11 March 1996 – 3 December 2007
Prime MinisterJohn Howard
Preceded byGareth Evans
Succeeded byStephen Smith
Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
In office
27 June 2014 – 27 April 2018
Nominated byTony Abbott
Preceded byMike Rann
Succeeded byGeorge Brandis
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Mayo
In office
1 December 1984 – 14 July 2008
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byJamie Briggs
Personal details
Born
Alexander John Gosse Downer

(1951-09-09) 9 September 1951 (age 73)
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Political partyLiberal
Spouse
Nicola Robinson
(m. 1978)
Children4
Parents
Education
Alma materNewcastle University, England
Occupation
Profession

Alexander John Gosse Downer AC (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2014 to 2018.

Downer was born in Adelaide, the son of Sir Alick Downer and the grandson of Sir John Downer. After periods working for the Bank of New South Wales and with the diplomatic service, he was appointed executive director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in 1983. He also served as an advisor to Liberal leaders Malcolm Fraser and Andrew Peacock. Downer was elected to parliament at the 1984 federal election, winning the Division of Mayo in South Australia. He was added to the opposition frontbench in 1987.

After the Coalition lost the 1993 election, John Hewson's position as leader of the Liberal Party came into question. Downer successfully challenged him for the leadership in May 1994, thus becoming Leader of the Opposition. He initially had high approval ratings, but after a series of gaffes resigned the leadership in January 1995 and was replaced by John Howard. He was the first Liberal leader to fail to lead the party to an election, and remains the shortest-serving leader in party history.

When the Howard government came to power in 1996, Downer was made Minister for Foreign Affairs. He served until the government's defeat in 2007, making him the longest-serving foreign minister in Australian history. Downer left politics in 2008, and was subsequently named Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Cyprus. He held that post until 2014, when he was appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom by the Abbott government.