Andrew Colvin is an Australian

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

who was the

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government responsible for investigating Crime in Australia, crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth ...

from September 2014 to September 2019. On 5 January 2020, Colvin was appointed to lead the newly established National Bushfire Recovery Agency. In June 2024, Colvin was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Australian Red Cross, an organisation with a rich history of making a positive impact on people’s lives.

Early life and education

Between July 2009 and May 2010 he studied for and received a master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University's

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Career

Colvin joined the

in 1990 and has worked in policing

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

, politically motivated crime, illegal

pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

and

terrorism financing Terrorism financing is the provision of funds or providing financial support to individual terrorists or non-state actors. Most countries have implemented measures to counter terrorism financing (CTF) often as part of their money laundering law ...

. He oversaw Australia's policing response to the

2002 Bali bombings The 2002 Bali bombings were a series of terrorist attacks on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attacks killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people ...

, for which he was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian 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 then ...

(OAM), upgraded to the AO in 2022 in 2003, and the Australian Embassy bombings in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

. In 2008 Colvin was awarded the

Australian Police Medal The Australian Police Medal (APM) is awarded for distinguished service by a member of an Australian police force. The APM was introduced in 1986, and replaced the Imperial King’s Police Medal for Gallantry and King’s Police Medal, King’s Po ...

(APM). He replaced Commissioner Tony Negus as head of the AFP in September 2014 AFP Media Release
and chose not to seek a contract extension and stepped down from the role in September 2019.

Career chronology

* 1990: Joined Australian Federal Police * 2002: Superintendent, National Coordinator Counter Terrorism * 2003:

(OAM) * 2005: Chief of Staff * 2006: Assistant Commissioner * 2007: Street Review * 2008: National Manager High Tech Crime Operations * 2008:

(APM) * 2010: Masters in Public Administration * 2010: Deputy Commissioner Operations * 2014: Appointed Commissioner * 2019: Stepped down as Commissioner * 2022: Promoted to Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the

2022 Australia Day Honours The 2022 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 2022 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley. The Australia ...

for "distinguished service to law enforcement, to counter terrorism initiatives, and to bushfire recovery programs".

Personal life

Andrew Colvin is married with two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colvin, Andrew Commissioners of the Australian Federal Police Harvard Kennedy School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Police Medal