On Friday 15 December 2006 The Hon Alexander Downer MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia, gave a talk on "Ideas as weapons: meeting the ideological challenge of extremism".
A transcript of his address is available in the recent documents section below.
Alexander Downer has been Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs since the election of the Howard Governmment in March 1996.
Born in 1951, Mr Downer was educated at Geelong Grammer School, Victoria; Radley College, Oxford, United Kingdom; and the University of Newcastle on Tyne, United Kingdom. He holds a Batchelor of Arts (Hons) in Politics and is a Doctor of Civil Laws (honoris causa).
Prior to entering Parliament, Mr Downer held a number of senior positions in government and the private sector; these included Diplomat, Department of Foreign Affairs from 1976 to 1982, serving at the Australian mission to the EEC; Australian Representation to NATO, Australian Embassy, Belgium and Luxembourg; and Senior Foreign Affairs Representative in South Australia; Political Advisor to the former Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Fraser, and Political Advisor to the Federal Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Andrew Peacock from 1982 to 1983; and Executive Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce from 1983 to 1984.
Mr Downer has held a number of other senior Parliamentary positions. He stepped down as Opposition Leader in January 1995 and became Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mr Downer served in this capacity until the election of the Howard Governmment . He has also served as Shadow Minister in a number of portfolios: Treasurer (1993-1994), Defence (1992-1993), Trade and Trade Negotiations (1990-1992), Housing and Small Business (1988-1989) and Arts, Heritage and the Environment (1987).
