Michael Gerard L'Estrange (born 12 October 1952 in North Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

) is an Australian academic and former public servant. He is the former Head of the National Security College at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

, in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. L'Estrange had earlier served a long career in the Australian public service including as a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

and as

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

of the

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and ...

Biography

L'Estrange attended St Aloysius' College in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

and then studied history at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

residing at St John's College, and graduated in 1974. He went on to win a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in 1975, studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms ...

, graduating in 1979 with first class honours. While at Oxford, he played first-class

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

for

Oxford University Cricket Club Oxford University Cricket Club (OUCC), which represents the University of Oxford, has always held first-class status since 1827 when it made its debut in the inaugural University Match between OUCC and Cambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC). ...

. Returning to Australia, L'Estrange worked for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, focusing on foreign policy and also undertaking staff work with the Royal Commission on Australia's security and intelligence agencies. In 1987 he was awarded a

Harkness Fellowship The Harkness Fellowship (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship) is a program run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This fellowship was established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several cou ...

(he had applied for the Harkness in 1986, but that year it was awarded to

Eleanor Hall Eleanor Hall is an Australian journalist and presenter. Career Eleanor Hall studied arts/law at the University of Sydney and graduated with first class honours in history. She was the youngest person ever to be awarded a Harkness fellowship H ...

) and attended the

Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

, where the supervisor of his studies was

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democrat ...

. He also studied at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

. After this fellowship, he worked as a policy adviser to Australian

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

leaders between 1989 and 1994, and became the executive director of the

Menzies Research Centre The Menzies Research Centre Ltd is an Australian public policy think tank. It was founded in 1994 and is named in honour of Sir Robert Menzies, the founder of the Liberal Party of Australia and Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister. It is ...

, a conservative think tank, in 1995. In 1996, with the election of the

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

coalition government, L'Estrange was appointed as Secretary of

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

and the head of the Cabinet Policy Unit. L'Estrange and Howard had been neighbours in the 1970s. From 2000 to 2005, he was the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, after which time he returned to become the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, between 2005 and 2009. In 2007, he was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

for service to the development and implementation of public policy in Australia, particularly national security and foreign policy, and to international relations through fostering diplomatic, trade and cultural interests including strengthening Australia's relationship with the United Kingdom. In December 2009 he was appointed as the inaugural Executive Director of the National Security College at the Australian National University. He stepped down from the role in November 2014 and was replaced by Professor Rory Medcalf. On 29 May 2014,

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...

announced that, as of 1 September 2014, he would join the Rio Tinto board as a non-executive director. On 7 April 2016, he was appointed to the Qantas board as a non-executive director. On 30 April 2017, he became the Deputy Chancellor of the

University of Notre Dame Australia The University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) is a national Roman Catholic private university with campuses in and in Western Australia and Sydney in New South Wales. The university also has eight clinical schools as part of its school of med ...

. During L'Estrange's time as a director of Rio Tinto in May 2020 the mining company deliberately destroyed the

Australian Aboriginal sacred site An Australian Aboriginal sacred site is a place deemed significant and meaningful by Aboriginal Australians based on their beliefs. It may include any feature in the landscape, and in coastal areas, these may lie underwater. The site's status i ...

Juukan Gorge Juukan Gorge is a gorge in the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, about from Mt Tom Price. It was named by the daughter of Puutu Kunti Kurrama man Juukan, also known as Tommy Ashburton, who was born at Jukarinya (Mt B ...

- the only inland site in Australia to show signs of continuous human occupation for over 46,000 years. L’Estrange wrote an internal review of the decision to destroy the Juukan Gorge site, which was criticised by Australian Senator

Pat Dodson Patrick Lionel Djargun Dodson (born 29 January 1948) is an Australian politician representing Western Australia in the Australian Senate. He is a Yawuru elder from Broome, Western Australia. He has been chairman of the Council for Aboriginal ...

as an “unsatisfactory piece of work” and by indigenous leader

Noel Pearson Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city * Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid * Mount Noel, Brit ...

as a "whitewash". He subsequently announced that he would step down from the Rio Tinto board in 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:L'Estrange, Michael University of Sydney alumni Harkness Fellows Australian Rhodes Scholars Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal Australian chief executives 1952 births Living people Oxford University cricketers High Commissioners of Australia to the United Kingdom Permanent Representatives of Australia to the International Maritime Organization People educated at St Aloysius' College (Sydney) Australian cricketers Cricketers from Sydney British Universities cricketers