Gillian Bird
{{Short description|Australian public servant and diplomat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = Her Excellency
| name = Gillian Bird
| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|PSM|size=100}}
| image = Gillian Bird.jpg
| caption = Gillian Bird in 2004
| office = Australian Ambassador to France
| term_start = 5 November 2020
| term_end = 12 December 2024
| predecessor = Brendan Berne
| successor = Lynette Wood
| office1 = Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
| term_start1 = February 2015
| term_end1 = 17 October 2019
| predecessor1 = Gary Quinlan
| successor1 = Mitch Fifield
| birth_name = Gillian Elizabeth Bird
| birth_date = June 1957
| birth_place = Adelaide, Australia
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater = University of Sydney
École nationale d'administration
}}
Gillian Elizabeth Bird (born in Adelaide){{cite book|last1=Association for Baha’i Studies – Australia|title=Human rights, faith and culture: 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights|date=2001|publisher=Juxta Publishing|pages=7|url=http://bahai-library.com/pdf/h/human_rights_intro.pdf|access-date=2 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408045927/http://bahai-library.com/pdf/h/human_rights_intro.pdf|archive-date=8 April 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} is an Australian civil servant and diplomat who served as the Australia's Ambassador to France from 2020 to 2024. Bird concurrently serves as Australia's non-resident Ambassador to Algeria, Mauritania, and Monaco.{{Cite web|date=2021-06-04|title=Where are they now? Gillian Bird (1975)|url=https://www.pymblelc.nsw.edu.au/2021/06/where-are-they-now-gillian-bird-1975/|access-date=2021-09-17|website=www.pymblelc.nsw.edu.au}} She is a former Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations, serving between 2015 and 2019.{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2015/bio4693.doc.htm|title=New Permanent Representative of Australia Presents Credentials (2015)|publisher=United Nations|date=17 February 2015|access-date=22 January 2020}}
Education
Bird graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) and later studied at the École nationale d'administration.{{cite web |title=Ms Gillian Bird – Biographical details |url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/dept/exec/birdgillian_bio.html |access-date=2 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704184828/http://dfat.gov.au/dept/exec/birdgillian_bio.html |archive-date=4 July 2014 |url-status=dead|df=dmy }}
Career
Bird joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1980, and from 1980 to 1983 was based in Paris where she was a representative of the Australian government to the OECD. From 1986 until 1987 Bird served at the Australian embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe, and from 1990 until 1993 at the Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations in New York City.
Bird returned to Australia in 1993 and was appointed Assistant Secretary in the Executive Branch of the foreign ministry, and from 1994 to 1997 was Assistant Secretary in the Peace, Arms Control and Disarmament Branch. From 1997 to 1999 Bird was First Assistant Secretary in International Organisations and Legal Division, and from 1999 to 2002 she was First Assistant Secretary in the South and South-East Asia Division.
After a stint as Head of the Foreign and Trade Policy White Paper Task Force of the Australian foreign department, in 2002 she was appointed as First Assistant Secretary in the International Division of Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. She held this position until 2004, when she was appointed Deputy Secretary in the Executive Branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Concurrent to this role, in 2008 Bird was appointed as Australia's first Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations by Stephen Smith, then-Foreign Minister of Australia.{{cite news |title=Bird appointed as ASEAN ambassador |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-09-05/bird-appointed-as-asean-ambassador/500376 |access-date=2 July 2014 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=5 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714112532/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-09-05/bird-appointed-as-asean-ambassador/500376 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=dead|df=dmy }} Australia became the first ASEAN dialogue partner in 1974, and Bird's appointment enabled Australia to continue friendly relations with the regional bloc, whilst also giving it a voice in helping to solve regional issues.{{cite news|title=Ms Gillian Bird appointed as Australia's first ambassador to ASEAN|url=http://www.cpv.org.vn/cpv/Modules/News_English/News_Detail_E.aspx?CN_ID=246157&CO_ID=30128|access-date=2 July 2014|publisher=Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper|date=6 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714221106/http://www.cpv.org.vn/cpv/Modules/News_English/News_Detail_E.aspx?CN_ID=246157&CO_ID=30128|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}
On 11 June 2014, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott appointed Bird as Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations.{{cite news |title=Senior Diplomatic Appointments |url=https://www.pm.gov.au/media/2014-06-11/senior-diplomatic-appointments-0 |access-date=2 July 2014 |publisher=Prime Minister of Australia |date=11 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702095913/http://www.pm.gov.au/media/2014-06-11/senior-diplomatic-appointments-0 |archive-date=2 July 2014 |url-status=dead|df=dmy }}{{cite news |title=PM names next Australian ambassador to UN |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/pm-names-next-australian-ambassador-to-un |access-date=2 July 2014 |publisher=SBS |date=12 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122011545/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/pm-names-next-australian-ambassador-to-un |archive-date=22 January 2020 |url-status=live|df=dmy }} Bird was appointed in February 2015, replacing Gary Quinlan, and presented her credentials to the UN Secretary‑General Ban Ki-moon on 17 February 2015. Her term expired in October 2019 and she was replaced by former Senator Mitch Fifield.{{cite web|url=https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/marise-payne/media-release/ambassador-and-permanent-representative-united-nations|title=Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations|publisher=Minister for Foreign Affairs|date=17 October 2019|access-date=22 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/bio5278.doc.htm|title=New Permanent Representative of Australia Presents Credentials (2019)|publisher=United Nations|date=22 October 2019|access-date=22 January 2020}}
In November 2020, she was appointed as the new Australian Ambassador to France, Algeria, Mauritania and Monaco, replacing Brendan Berne who occupied the post since 2017.{{Cite press release |author=Payne, Marise |authorlink=Marise Payne |url=https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/marise-payne/media-release/ambassador-france |title=Ambassador to France |work=Minister for Foreign Affairs |publisher=Australian Government |date=22 October 2020 |accessdate=24 October 2022 }} Bird presented her credentials to the Director of State Protocol and Diplomatic Events at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, on 5 November 2020.{{cite news |url=https://australiafranceba.org/presentation-of-credentials-new-australian-ambassador-france/ |title=Presentation of Credentials by New Australian Ambassador to France, H.E. Gillian Bird PSM |work= |publisher=Australia France Business Association |date=November 2022 |access-date=4 December 2022 }}
Affidavit in NPA agent corruption case
In July 2014 news sites outside of Australia reported that an unprecedented suppression order was issued by the Supreme Court of Victoria for an affidavit from Bird relating to allegations that Securency and Note Printing Australia (NPA) agents had made bribes totalling million of dollars for the purposes of securing contracts to manufacture polymer banknotes to Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other countries. A copy of the order published by Wikileaks, reportedly showed that Bird's affidavit and the very fact that the suppression order existed, was suppressed on national security grounds throughout Australian media.{{cite web|title=Aussie graft case suppression order covers M'sian PMs|url=https://news.yahoo.com/aussie-graft-case-suppression-order-covers-msian-pm-034534353.html|access-date=30 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730010101/https://news.yahoo.com/aussie%2Dgraft%2Dcase%2Dsuppression%2Dorder%2Dcovers%2Dmsian%2Dpm%2D034534353.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 July 2014}}
Awards
In 2012 Bird was awarded the Public Service Medal for her service over a sustained period, contributing significantly to advancing key priorities of successive Australian Governments in the field of international relations and delivery of consular services. According to award documents, Bird has also displayed outstanding service in the Department’s consular response overseeing incidents ranging from major evacuations of Australians in conflict zones to high-profile individual consular cases. She also played key roles in advancing the bilateral relations with key Association of South East Asian Nations countries which is of fundamental importance to Australian national interests. Bird is an exemplar of the best traditions of the Australian public service and has delivered outcomes of long-lasting importance for Australia.{{cite web |title=Public Service Medal |url=http://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/qb/qb2012/Media%20Notes%20PSM%20_final_.pdf |publisher=Governor-General of Australia |access-date=2 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213091253/http://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/qb/qb2012/Media%20Notes%20PSM%20_final_.pdf |archive-date=13 February 2014 |url-status=dead|df=dmy }}
References
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{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef | before=Gary Quinlan}}
{{s-ttl | title=Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations| years=2015{{ndash}}2019}}
{{s-aft | after=Mitch Fifield}}
{{s-bef|before=Brendan Berne}}
{{s-ttl|title=Australian Ambassador to France| years=2020–2024}}
{{s-aft|after=Lynette Wood}}
{{s-end}}
External links
{{commons category|Gillian Bird}}
{{DFAT-text|2=http://www.dfat.gov.au/dept/exec/birdgillian_bio.html}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Gillian}}
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:Ambassadors of Australia to ASEAN
Category:Ambassadors of Australia to France
Category:Ambassadors of Australia to Algeria
Category:Ambassadors of Australia to Mauritania
Category:Ambassadors of Australia to Monaco
Category:Permanent representatives of Australia to the United Nations