Michael Cook (diplomat) explained

Michael John Cook
Office1:14th Ambassador of Australia to
the United States
Primeminister1:Bob Hawke
Paul Keating
Term Start1:20 April 1989
Term End1:1 August 1993
Predecessor1:Rawdon Dalrymple
Successor1:Don Russell
Office2:Director-General of the Office of National Assessments
Primeminister2:Malcolm Fraser
Bob Hawke
Term Start2:1981
Term End2:1989
Predecessor2:Robert Furlonger
Successor2:Walter Miller
Office3:Chief Executive Officer to the Prime Minister of Australia
Primeminister3:Malcolm Fraser
Term Start3:1979
Term End3:1981
Successor3:David Kemp
Office4:Deputy high commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom
Primeminister4:Malcolm Fraser
Term Start4:1975
Term End4:1979
Office5:Ambassador of Australia to Vietnam
Primeminister5:Gough Whitlam
Term Start5:26 July 1973
Term End5:22 March 1974
Predecessor5:Arthur Morris
Successor5:Geoffrey Price
Birth Date:28 October 1931
Birth Place:Rangoon, Burma
Death Place:London, England
Alma Mater:University of Melbourne
Occupation:diplomat

Michael John Cook (28 October 1931 – 18 June 2017) was an Australian diplomat.[1]

He was the director-general of the Office of National Assessments from 1981 to 1989 before becoming the Ambassador of Australia to the United States from 1989 to 1993.[1]

Early life

Cook was born in Burma on 28 October 1931.[2]

He graduated from Geelong Grammar School and was awarded a scholarship to attend Trinity College at the University of Melbourne where he studied law.[1] [2]

Career

Cook's public service began in 1954 with a cadetship at the Department of External Affairs.[2] His work took him to countries such as Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia and the United States.[2]

In 1973, Cook was appointed as the Ambassador of Australia to Vietnam prior to being appointed the deputy high commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom in 1975.[3]

While working in London, Cook was convinced by Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser to return to Australia in 1979 to become his chief executive officer in his private office.[1] [4]

After working for Fraser from 1979 to 1981, Cook became the Director-General of the Office of National Assessments.[1] [5] Serving in this role from 1981 to 1989, Cook became the longest serving director-general of ONA.[2]

In 1989, Cook was appointed as the 14th Ambassador of Australia to the United States of America.[6]

One of Cook's final duties in this role was opening an inquiry into whether the KGB had infiltrated the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.[7] The findings of this enquiry have never been released.[8] [9]

After concluding his role as the ambassador of Australia to the United States in 1993, Cook relocated to London where he was the chairman of the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies at King's College London from 1997 to 2011.[2]

Personal life

After becoming engaged in December 1956, Cook married art historian Helen Ibbitson in London and had four children.[10] [11]

After the couple divorced, Ibbitson relocated to the United States and married legal counsel to the National Gallery of Art Phillip C. Jessup Jr., who became stepfather to Cook's four children.[12]

Cook's daughter Genevieve Cook commenced a two-year relationship with Barack Obama in 1983.[13]

For his public service, Cook was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 1990 Australia Day Honours.[14]

Cook died in London on 18 June 2017 at the age of 85.[15] A private funeral service was held for Cook but relatives, friends and neighbours were invited to a public gathering at his home on 6 July 2017 to celebrate his life.[15]

Inexplicably, Cook was posthumously chosen in 2018 to be a "patron of mateship" by Australia's ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey to support bilateral relations.[16] Australian historian Frank Bongiorno described the announcement as "really puzzling".[17]

Notes and References

  1. News: Walters. Patrick. 20 September 1988. Thinking man's spy to get us posting. The Australian Financial Review. 20 December 2022.
  2. News: . September 2017. Community News . Light Blue. Geelong Grammar School. 30. 20 December 2022.
  3. News: . 18 December 1973. Ambassador appointed . The Canberra Times. 20 December 2022.
  4. News: . 28 September 1979. New position created in PM's office reshuffle . The Canberra Times. 20 December 2022.
  5. News: . 16 January 1981. New head of ONA named. The Canberra Times. 20 December 2022.
  6. News: . 26 January 1989. Ambassador to head ONA. The Canberra Times. 20 December 2022.
  7. News: Abjorensen. Norman. 19 April 1994. State of crisis in our intelligence services. The Canberra Times. 20 December 2022.
  8. News: . 2 November 2004. ASIO mole report stays under wraps. The Age. 20 December 2022. Mr Cook's report has been passed to successive attorneys-general. Yesterday a spokesman for Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the Government would not release it..
  9. News: Patrick. Aaron. 26 October 2016. Official ASIO history says it was penetrated by foreign spies. Australian Financial Review. 20 December 2022. An official inquiry into the possible penetration of ASIO in 1994 by former diplomat Michael Cook has never been released..
  10. News: . 22 December 1956. ENGAGEMENTS: Cook - Ibbitson . The Canberra Times. 20 December 2022.
  11. News: . November 1957. Personal notes . The Fleur-de-Lys. Trinity College, Melbourne. 20 December 2022. Michael Cook, who recently married Helen Ibbitson in London, has been posted to Bangkok after spending a period in Egypt.
  12. News: Bernstein. Adam. 9 September 2013. Philip C. Jessup Jr., mining executive and legal adviser to National Gallery of Art, dies at 86 . The Washington Post. Survivors include his wife of 44 years, art historian Helen Ibbitson Jessup of Norfolk; three children from his first marriage, Timothy Jessup of Jakarta and Nancy Jessup and Margaret Jessup, both of Northampton, Mass.; four stepchildren, Genevieve Cook, Lucinda Martindale of Dingle, Ireland, Francesca Cook-Hagen of Brussels and Alexander Cook of Manhattan, N.Y..
  13. News: Murphy. Damien. 4 May 2012. Voice like a wind chime: the diary of Obama's lover from Australia . The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 December 2022.
  14. Web site: Mr Michael John Cook. . 1990. It's an Honour. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 20 December 2022. Citation: in recognition of service to the Public Service; Announcement event: Australia Day 1990 Honours List.
  15. News: . 23 June 2017. Michael John Cook AO. The Times. 20 December 2022.
  16. News: March. Stephanie. 7 July 2018. Australia's US ambassador Joe Hockey accepts responsibility for 15 white men 'mateship patrons' . ABC News. 20 December 2022.
  17. Frank Bongiorno. Frank Bongiorno. fbongiornoanu. 1015569933281841152. This is really puzzling. Former Australian Ambassador to the US Michael Cook AO listed as one of the mateship ambassadors. But he died last year..