Alexander Downer
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer, ACis a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history. He was also the Leader of the Opposition for eight months from 1994 to 1995. Until early February 2014, Downer was the United Nations Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus...
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth9 September 1951
components export fully mass weapons worry
nothing to worry about if they don't export components or fully made-up weapons of mass destruction.
aspect australian disappoint discussion intelligence time tradition worn
Well, it's a - I don't want to disappoint you, but it's a time worn tradition of Australian Governments over many years not to get into any discussion about that aspect of intelligence matters.
overnight reports
Reports that I've had in now overnight are, I must admit, pretty bad,
equipment hide people sorts suppose
I suppose people could hide all sorts of equipment in all sorts of clothing,
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It is deeply regrettable that the Pakistani government has shown absolute disregard for the many direct appeals to exercise restraint and has willfully turned its back on the sincere efforts of the international community to encourage reason to prevail.
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I think in turn the media has become very interested in this specific case, and has gone into an enormous amount of detail.
appealed ask length sentence
We ask that the length of the sentence be appealed in the Indonesian courts.
thinking wife prime
Yes, I don't think I shall ever become Prime Minister. Hard as that is to swallow, I tell you one person who is very happy always to see me say that, and that's my wife.
party leader deputies
I'm not terribly focused on whether I even could ever become the Leader of the Liberal Party or the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in the future.
views media people
So this is all part of a free society. People are entitled to hold whatever view they want, and the media can report things how they wish.
father names house
My father had the same name as me but he was known as Alec. He was a member of the House of Representatives.
growing-up father ideas
Well people often ask me how I felt growing up with a father who was a politician and who was often away. But when I'm asked that question I often reflect on my inability really to be able to answer it in any relative sense because I never grew up with a father doing anything else. So I just have no idea what it would be like otherwise.
reflection people house
If people are concerned about my house and where I live again it's much more of a reflection on them than it is on me.
hate kissing approach
I hate to spoil my own prospects, but I really don't respect the kiss-and-tell approach to public life at all, not at all.