- In full:
- Alexander John Gosse Downer
- Born:
- September 9, 1951, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia (age 75)
- Political Affiliation:
- Liberal Party of Australia
Alexander Downer
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Who is Alexander Downer?
Alexander Downer, born on September 9, 1951, is an Australian Liberal Party politician. He briefly led the party in 1994–95. Downer served as minister of foreign affairs from 1996 to 2007, becoming the longest-serving foreign minister to date, and as Australia’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2014 to 2018.
Coming from a political family, his father, Sir Alexander Downer, was a cabinet minister and high commissioner to the U.K., and his grandfather, Sir John Downer, was one of the Australian Commonwealth's founding fathers.
In December 1984, Alexander was elected to represent Mayo, South Australia, in the House of Representatives. After an eight-month tenure, he resigned as party leader in January 1995 and was succeeded by John Howard.
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What political party did Alexander Downer belong to?
Alexander Downer is an Australian politician who belonged to the Liberal Party of Australia. He led the party for a brief period in 1994–95. Downer was later minister of foreign affairs (1996–2007) and Australia’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom (2014–18). The Liberal Party was founded in 1944–45 by Robert Menzies.
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What important position did Alexander Downer hold in the Australian government?
Alexander Downer, an Australian Liberal Party politician, held several significant positions in the Australian government. He served as the leader of the Liberal Party for a brief period in 1994–95. His most notable role was as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, making him the longest-serving foreign minister in Australian history. Later, Downer became Australia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2014 to 2018.
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How long did Alexander Downer serve as Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs?
Alexander Downer, an Australian Liberal Party politician, served as Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, making him the longest-serving foreign minister to date. Before this, he briefly led his party in 1994–95 and later became Australia’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom (2014–18). Downer comes from a political family and was elected to represent Mayo, South Australia, in the House of Representatives in December 1984. After the March 1996 elections, he was named minister for foreign affairs in John Howard’s government. He remained in that position until December 2007 and continued to serve in the House of Representatives until his resignation in July 2008.
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What were some key events or policies during Alexander Downer’s time as Foreign Minister?
Alexander Downer, an Australian Liberal Party politician, served as minister of foreign affairs from 1996 to 2007, becoming Australia's longest-serving foreign minister.
During his tenure, a few notable events and policies include:
* Overseeing Australia's foreign policy during the Howard government.
* Serving as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s special advisor on Cyprus after leaving the House of Representatives in 2008.
* Becoming Australia’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom in 2014, a position he held until 2018.1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What did Alexander Downer do after leaving politics?
After leaving his position in the House of Representatives in July 2008, Alexander Downer became the UN Secretary-General’s special advisor on Cyprus. He served in that role until 2014. Later that year, Downer was appointed as Australia’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom, a position he held until 2018.
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Alexander Downer (born September 9, 1951, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia) is an Australian Liberal Party politician who led his party for a brief period in 1994–95 and who served as minister of foreign affairs (1996–2007) and as Australia’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom (2014–18).
Downer came from a well-connected political family. His father, Sir Alexander Downer, had been a cabinet minister in the government of Sir Robert Menzies and Australia’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom. His grandfather, Sir John Downer, was one of the founding fathers of the Australian Commonwealth and a senator in the Australian Parliament. The younger Alexander was educated at Geelong Grammar and then in England at Radley College. He went on to receive a bachelor’s degree with honours from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He began his working career as an economist but moved quickly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as a diplomat in Australian embassies in Belgium and Luxembourg. In December 1984 he was elected to represent Mayo, South Australia, in the House of Representatives, where his good humour, confidence, and frank reaction to the difficulties that crossed his path endeared him to his party. As the Adelaide Advertiser put it, he showed up most other Canberra politicians by getting out into the real world to study problems head on.
When Downer became leader of the Liberal Party of Australia on May 23, 1994, he faced not only a party in disarray but also the burden of his distinguished background. Public opinion polls soon put him and his conservative party ahead of Prime Minister Paul Keating and his Australian Labor Party government. Downer made a series of mistakes in his handling of Aboriginal policy, however, and by the end of the year the trend was reversed. Downer’s troubles began when he said that a Liberal government would consider scrapping the Native Title Act, under which Aboriginal people were encouraged to take up large-scale Outback land ownership. He made matters worse by a visit to settlements in the Alice Springs area, where what he saw at Kintore, Desert Bore, Areyonga, Yuendumu, and Utopia so unnerved him that he made a series of contradictory and confusing statements, causing his approval rating of 53 percent at the beginning of the trip to dive to only 34 percent by the time he returned home.
Downer’s many supporters brushed off the nosedive in the polls, but in January 1995 he resigned the party leadership after only an eight-month tenure. He was replaced by John Howard, who became prime minister later that year. After the March 1996 elections, Downer was named minister for foreign affairs in Howard’s government and, remaining in that position until December 2007, became the longest-serving foreign minister to date. Downer continued to serve in the House of Representatives until his resignation in July 2008.
Shortly thereafter Downer became UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s special adviser on Cyprus. Downer left that post in 2014, and later that year he became Australia’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom; he remained in that position until 2018.