Alison Elizabeth Broinowski, ( Woodroffe; born 25 October 1941) is an Australian academic, journalist, writer and former Australian public servant.

Biography

Alison Woodroffe was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia, on 25 October 1941. She attended the Wilderness School from 1946 to 1958, and in 1962 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

. In December 1963, she married diplomat Richard Philip Broinowski. From 1963 to 1964, she was a cadet for the Australian Department of External Affairs before beginning her extensive public service career, including various diplomatic postings, with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT). Broinowski ran in New South Wales as a

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

candidate for The Wikileaks Party at the

2013 Australian federal election The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on Saturday, 7 September 2013. The centre-right Coalition (Australia), Liberal/National Coalition Opposition (Australia), opposition led by ...

. Broinowski was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the

2019 Australia Day Honours The 2019 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2019 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove. The Au ...

in recognition of her "significant service to international relations as an academic, author, and diplomat".

Career

* 1965–68 – Freelance journalist in Japan * 1969 – Journalist and leader-writer for the ''

Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

'' * 1970–74 – Department of Foreign Affairs, Japan Section * 1975–78 – Second Secretary at the Australian Embassy in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Philippines * 1978–82 – ASEAN Section, Department of Foreign Affairs; Co-ordinator, Australian Institute of International Affairs Conferences * 1982–83 – Administrative Assistant to the Governor General; executive director of the Australian National Word Festival * 1983–85 – Cultural Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan * 1986 – Director, Japan Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade * 1987–88 – Director, Australia-Japan Foundation, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; visiting fellow at the Department of Asian Studies,

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

* 1988 – Chargé d'Affaires with the Australian Embassy in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, Jordan, and research associate with the Korean Research Foundation and Yonsei University in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea * 1989–90 – Counsellor with the Australian Mission to the United Nations in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States * 1990–92 – On leave from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to undertake freelance work, including lecturing, journalism, broadcasting and research on Australia/Asian affairs * 1992–93 – Regional Director with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Melbourne * 1993–94 – Director, Advocacy and Planning, Australia Council * 1995 – Visiting Fellow, Australian Defence Force Academy * 1995–96 – Research Associate, Ibero American University, Mexico * 1996 – Visiting Fellow,

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...

* 1996–99 – Visiting Fellow,

Bibliography

Books

* 1974: ''Take One Ambassador'' (Macmillan) * 1992:
The Yellow Lady : Australian Impressions of Asia
' (Melbourne: Oxford University Press) * 1996: ''The Yellow Lady : Australian Impressions of Asia'', 2nd edition (Melbourne: Oxford University Press) * 2003: ''About Face : Asian Accounts of Australia'', (Melbourne: Scribe Publications) * 2003: ''Howard's War'' (Scribe Publications) (Scribe Short Books) * 2004: as editor, ''Double Vision: Asian Accounts of Australia'' (Canberra: Pandanus Books) * 2005: with James Wilkinson, ''The Third Try: Can the UN Work?'' (Scribe Publications) (Scribe Short Books) * 2007: "Allied and Addicted" (Scribe Publications) (Scribe Short Books)

Articles

*
A Long Journey on the Ikebana Road"
''The National Library of Australia Magazine'', 8 (1): 20–23.

References

External links

Papers of Alison Broinowski

Dr Alison Broinowski – Faculty of Asian Studies

* ttp://www.allbookstores.com/author/Alison_Broinowski.html Alison Broinowski Books – List of books by Alison Broinowski
Article published at Pearls and Irritations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broinowski, Alison 1941 births Australian activists Australian freelance journalists Academic staff of the Australian National University Australian women diplomats Australian women journalists Living people Members of the Order of Australia Writers from Adelaide The Canberra Times people WikiLeaks Party politicians University of Adelaide alumni