Pierre Norman Bruce Hutton (16 July 192820 July 2014) was an Australian

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Personal life

Born on 16 July 1928 in Tasmania, Hutton was educated at

St Virgil's College St Virgil's College is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day school for boys, located over two campuses in Austins Ferry and Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1911 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, the College has ...

and the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

. Graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1948, Hutton joined the

Commonwealth Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the Gov ...

in the Department of External Affairs in 1949 as a diplomatic cadet. Hutton died on 20 July 2014.

Career

Hutton's early overseas posts were to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. After heading the Department's Malaysian/Indonesian section (1962–1964) and a posting as First Secretary to Geneva (1964–1967), in October 1967, Hutton was appointed the Department's public information officer, responsible for assisting Australian media report accurately on foreign affairs, from the Australian angle. He declined to be photographed by ''The Canberra Times'' in his first week in the role. He headed a team of three public information officers, all with diplomatic backgrounds. From the role as public information officer, Hutton was appointed High Commissioner to Nigeria in February 1970—his first post as head of mission. He was Ambassador to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

from 1973 to 1975, in the lead-up to the start of the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

. Arriving in April 1973, within days Hutton and his family were in the midst of fighting. His wife and four of his five children were forced to hide in the basement of a school for 11 hours, with teachers and other pupils, while Palestinians and units of the Lebanese Army exchanged fire above. During his posting in Beirut, Hutton was also appointed the first non-resident ambassador to Iraq (in 1974) and to Jordan and Syria (in 1975). Hutton was later an Ambassador to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and finally to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he was also Representative to the

UN Human Rights Commission The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the United Nations System, overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a ...

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, Pierre 1928 births 2014 deaths Consuls-general for Australia in Nouméa Ambassadors of Australia to Egypt Ambassadors of Australia to Iraq Ambassadors of Australia to Jordan Ambassadors of Australia to Lebanon Ambassadors of Australia to Switzerland Ambassadors of Australia to Syria High commissioners of Australia to Nigeria University of Tasmania alumni