Robert S. Merrillees (born 25 July 1938) is a former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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 ...

and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. His memoir ''Diplomatic Digs'' was released in 2012 as an e-book. Merrillees joined the

Australian 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 G ...

in the Department of External Affairs in 1964. In the early 1970s, Merrillees, along with his wife and their two daughters, took part in the Columbia University Expedition to Phlamoudhi, Cyprus, led by

Edith Porada Edith Porada (22 August 1912, Vienna – 24 March 1994, Honolulu) was an Austrian-born art historian and archaeologist, a leading authority on ancient cylinder seals and a professor of art history and archaeology at Columbia University. About P ...

. Reminiscing about the two seasons of excavations that the family took part in, Merrillees described the experience as "unforgettable", leaving them with "a sense of achievement, lasting friendships and a nostalgia for times past". Merrillees first ambassadorial appointment was in 1983, in Tel Aviv where he was Australian Ambassador to Israel until 1987. In February 1990, Merrillees led a team to

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

to hold talks with Phnom Penh government officials in preparation for a

peace agreement A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surr ...

. The next month Merrillees travelled to Washington, New York,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to continue discussions on a Cambodian settlement. In October 1991, Merrillees took up an appointment as Australian Ambassador to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

; and non-resident Ambassador to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. His appointment lasted until 1995, when he was appointed Australian Ambassador to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Beginning his posting to Athens in January 1996, Merrillees was recalled early from the role, in 1998, and took early retirement. Merrillees was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australi ...

in 1992.

Family

Merrillees's elder daughter, Antoinette, also joined the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and in 2016 was Charge d’affaires in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. She is married to Australia's

Permanent Representative to the United Nations A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Natio ...

, James Larsen, former Australian Ambassador to Israel and to Turkey. They have three children together: Robert, Isobel and Alexandra. Merrillees's younger daughter Dolla Merrillees until recently was the Director of th
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of 4 museums in Sydney, owned by the Government of New South Wales. Powerhouse is a contemporary museum of applied arts and sciences, explori ...

Sydney Observatory The Sydney Observatory is a heritage-listed meteorological station, astronomical observatory, function venue, science museum, and education facility located on Observatory Hill at Upper Fort Street, in the inner city Sydney suburb of Millers P ...

an
Museums Discovery Centre
in Sydney. She is also the author of the book, The Woodcutter's Wife: A Stepmother's Tale, the story of her struggles in becoming a stepmother.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrillees, Robert Living people 1938 births Place of birth missing (living people) Australian writers Ambassadors of Australia to Estonia Ambassadors of Australia to Finland Ambassadors of Australia to Greece Ambassadors of Australia to Israel Ambassadors of Australia to Sweden University of Sydney alumni Alumni of the University of London Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities