Alexander Downer

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The Honourable Alexander John Gosse Downer, MP (born September 9, 1951), Australian politician, became Foreign Minister of Australia in March 1996. Alexander also served as the federal parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 1994-1995.

Downer was born in Adelaide, South Australia, into one of the state's oldest families. His father, Sir Alexander "Alec" Downer, was a member of the Australian Parliament 1949-1964 and later High Commissioner in London. His grandfather, Sir John Downer, was a Senator in the first federal Parliament in 1901. His mother, Lady Downer (née Mary Gosse), is descended from early immigrants to South Australia. Downer is married to Nicola (née Robinson) and has four children, Georgina, Olivia, Edward and Henrietta.

Downer was educated at Geelong Grammar School, Radley College and at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in Britain. His absence from Australia precluded him from the possibility of military conscription to which other Australians of his age group were subject. He entered the Australian Diplomatic Service, where he served until 1982. He then worked as an advisor to the Liberal Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser. In 1984 he was elected to the federal Parliament as Liberal member for Mayo, in the suburbs of Adelaide.

The Liberals were in opposition fron 1983 to 1996, and Downer held a number of positions on the Opposition front bench from 1987 onwards.

Downer's family background and his Cultivated Australian English accent — rare in public life by the 1990s and regarded as sounding "snobby", "patronising" and/or "aloof" — have always made him vulnerable to political attacks which exploit anti-elitist sentiment. For example, Labor MP Mick Young, also a South Australian, once said: "Downer's gamekeeper's house is bigger than The Lodge" (the latter being the Prime Minister's residence).

However, he was an effective debater, and in 1993 he became Shadow Treasurer (Opposition finance spokesperson). When the Liberals unexpectedly lost the 1993 elections to Paul Keating, Downer began to be talked of as a possible leader, and in May 1994 he succeeded Dr John Hewson as leader of the Liberal party after defeating him in a leadership ballot.

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As Liberal leader, Downer struggled against Labor's parliamentary and media tactics. He never shook off Keating's jibe that he was "the idiot son of the aristocracy." Downer also made a series of insensitive blunders, the worst of which was his joke in a speech at a formal dinner, in which he was promoting the Liberal party slogan The Things That Matter. Downer referred to wife-bashing husbands as "the things that batter". Opinion polls began to show that the Liberals were going backwards under his leadership. In January 1995 he resigned as Leader, and John Howard was elected to replace him. With a tenure of just over eight months, Downer is to date the shortest-serving leader of the federal Liberal Party.

When Howard won the March 1996 elections, he made Downer Minister for Foreign Affairs. After a shaky start, Downer has performed effectively in the role, with his most notable achievement being his involvement in East Timor's independence from Indonesia. He was greatly helped by the changed international situation after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, which has been attributed to a majority of Australians supporting the Howard Government's policy of close alliance with the US. Mr Downer is a firm supporter of the legality of the war in Iraq.

Downer's major recent challenge has been handling relations with Australia's most important neighbour, Indonesia. On 20 December, 2004, Downer became the longest serving Foreign Minister of Australia.

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