Ian Maurice Haig (13 December 193510 March 2014) was an Australian public servant and

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 ...

Life and career

Born in Perth on 13 December 1935, Haig moved with his mother and brother to Adelaide as a young boy when his father enlisted to serve in the 2nd AIF. He was educated at

Pulteney Grammar School Pulteney Grammar School is an Independent school, independent, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, co-educational day school. Founded in 1847 by members of the Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Church, it is the second oldest independen ...

before going on to study for a Bachelor of Arts at 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 February 1974, Haig was appointed Australia's first Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. In August 1975, Haig was also appointed non-resident Australian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. In 1978, Haig was one of 20 candidates for Liberal

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

for the

casual vacancy ''The Casual Vacancy'' is a novel written by British author J. K. Rowling, published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. It was Rowling's first publication since the ''Harry Potter'' series, her first novel apart fr ...

caused by the retirement of New South Wales senator

Bob Cotton Sir Robert Carrington Cotton, (29 November 191525 December 2006) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served as a Senator for New South Wales from 1966 to 1978. He held ministerial office as Min ...

. He was defeated by

Chris Puplick Christopher John Guelph Puplick ( ; born 13 May 1948) is a former Australian politician. He was a Senator for New South Wales from 1978 to 1981 and from 1984 to 1990, representing the Liberal Party. Early life Puplick was born on 13 May 1948 i ...

by a single vote. In 1986, Haig was chairman of Power International, a technology company. Haig was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1988 for his services to international relations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haig, Ian 1935 births 2014 deaths Ambassadors of Australia to Saudi Arabia Ambassadors of Australia to the United Arab Emirates Agents-General for Victoria Members of the Order of Australia University of Adelaide alumni People educated at Pulteney Grammar School