CIAO DATE: 12/2012
December 2012
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Australia was last on the Security Council in 1985-6, in the Hawke government years [Slide 2]. Australia had been on the Council four times since the creation of the UN in 1946 (the photograph on the top here shows the key Australians in the formation of the UN: Doc Evatt, Australian Labor politician who was President of the GA in 48-49 and instrumental in drafting the UN Declaration on Human Rights, Ben Chifley, Australia‟s Prime Minister from 45-49, and Clement Atlee, the British Post-War PM). We had held a seat on at first Security Council of 1946-1947, then ten years later in 1956-1957, 16 years later in 1973-1974, and then 11 years later in 85-6. Ironically, 1985, the last time Australia was on the Council, was the year Sir Percy Spender died, the post-WWII Australian Minister for External Affairs (the equivalent of the now Minister of Foreign Affairs), who most of you will know was one of the principal proponents of the ANZUS alliance and also instrumental in bringing the Colombo plan into being. He was Australia‟s Ambassador to the US and Australia‟s first appointee to the International Court of Justice.
Resource link: The UN Security Council seat and Australia's diplomacy for the Asian century [PDF] - 1.7M