Jeremy Hearder Explained

Jeremy Hearder
Birth Date:1936
Birth Place:Peshawar, Pakistan
Occupation:Diplomat, public servant, author, historian
Alma Mater:University of Melbourne
Stanford University
Nationality:Australian

Jeremy Victor Roblin Hearder (born 1936) is an Australian author and historian, and former diplomat and public servant.

He held several international postings for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, including Laos, Tanzania, Thailand, Kenya, Belgium, Zimbabwe, Fiji, the United States and New Zealand. He was Australia's first High Commissioner to Zimbabwe (1980–84) and is the author of the biography Jim Plim: Ambassador Extraordinary (2015). He also served as the Department's Chief of Protocol.

Life and career

Born in 1936 in Peshawar, India (later Pakistan), Hearder was the son of one of three founders of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, former British army officer Roblin Hearder.[1] The younger Hearder joined the Department of External Affairs in January 1959.[2] [3]

In 1980, Hearder was appointed the first High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, shortly after Zimbabwe's independence.[4] Retaining his High Commissioner position, in 1981 Hearder was accredited High Commissioner to Botswana,[5] and in 1982 he was accredited also as Australia's first Ambassador to Mozambique.[6] In 1984, after his posting in Harare came to an end, Hearder moved to Suva, Fiji, to take up a second High Commissioner posting.[3]

Hearder was Consul-General in Chicago from 1988 to 1991, responsible for promoting Australian trade and investment to America's mid-west.[7]

In 2015, Hearder launched his book, Jim Plim: Ambassador Extraordinary, a biography of diplomat James Plimsoll whom Hearder had worked with in the late 1970s in Brussels.[8] Reviewing the book, Philip Flood wrote that Hearder had done justice to Plimsoll's career as a great Australian ambassador.[9] [10]

Notes and References

  1. News: Lifting the cloak on spies like us. The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 20 July 2012. Daniel. Flitton. 11 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160611060149/http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/lifting-the-cloak-on-spies-like-us-20120719-22czn.html.
  2. Jeremy. Hearder. Alice Garner. 26 November 2009. Fulbright scholars oral history project.
  3. News: New envoy to Fiji. 1 May 1984. 3. The Canberra Times.
  4. High Commissioner in Zimbabwe . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611052746/http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p%3Bquery%3DId%3A%22media/pressrel/HPR10028900%22 . 11 June 2016 . 21 April 1980 . Department of Foreign Affairs . Department of Foreign Affairs (Australia) . dead .
  5. News: Botswana status. 14 August 1981. 3. The Canberra Times.
  6. News: Mozambique. 10 June 1982. The Canberra Times. 14.
  7. News: New consul-general. 26 May 1988. 3. The Canberra Times.
  8. News: The lessons of a distinguished diplomatic career. Tom. Switzer. Australian Broadcasting Commission. 6 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160611053920/http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/betweenthelines/the-lessons-of-a-distinguished-diplomatic-career/6654372. 11 June 2016.
  9. News: Book review: Jim Plim - Ambassador Extraordinary. Philip. Flood. Philip Flood. 15 May 2015. The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 11 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160611054808/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/book-review-jim-plim--ambassador-extraordinary-20150519-gh2lgc.html.
  10. “Jim Plim”: Ambassador Extraordinary book launch. 14 April 2015. Peter. Varghese. Peter Varghese. https://web.archive.org/web/20150814025435/http://dfat.gov.au/news/speeches/Pages/secretarys-speech-jim-plim-ambassador-extraordinary-book-launch.aspx. 14 August 2015.