A Conversation with Ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos AO

This is a morning event in Canberra at 10:30am AEDT (UTC+11), which is 6:30pm on Friday, December 11 in Washington DC.

Australian Ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos AO

AIIA National Executive Director Dr Bryce Wakefield

The Canberra chapter of the Australian American Association and the Australian Institute of International Affairs are pleased to co-host an event with Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, the Hon. Arthur Sinodinos AO.

We will be joined by Ambassador Sinodinos via video link from Washington for a conversation with AIIA National Director Dr Bryce Wakefield. This is an opportunity to hear from Australia’s representative in the US on prospects for the alliance under an incoming Biden Administration and on his perspectives on the many shared security, economic and health challenges facing Canberra and Washington as we move towards 2021. 

This event will be held both in front of an invitation-only limited audience at AIIA National Office at Stephen House in Deaking and in front of a pre-registered Zoom audience.

The Hon. Arthur Sinodinos AO is Australia’s Ambassador to the United States of America, taking up his posting in Washington in February 2020.

Ambassador Sinodinos was previously Australia’s Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science and was a Senator for New South Wales in the Australian Parliament from 2011 to 2019. During his
parliamentary career, he also held other key roles in and outside Cabinet, including Cabinet Secretary and Assistant Treasurer.

Over a career spanning four decades, Ambassador Sinodinos has dedicated his professional life to the advancement of Australia and its people. On the election of the Hon. John Howard AC as Prime Minister of Australia in 1996, Ambassador Sinodinos was appointed the Prime Minister’s Senior Economic Adviser and in 1997, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, a position he held for nine years. Between 1987-1989 and 1995-1996 Ambassador Sinodinos also served as Senior Economic Adviser to Mr Howard while in opposition. He started his Australian Public Service career in 1979, rising to the Senior Executive Service in the Department of the Treasury.

In 2006, Ambassador Sinodinos left government to work with Goldman Sachs JBWere, followed by the National Australia Bank and various corporate appointments.

In 2008, Ambassador Sinodinos was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to politics through the executive function of government, to the development of economic policy and reform, and to the Greek community. In 2019, he was made a Distinguished Fellow of the Australia & New Zealand School of Government in recognition of his promotion of public sector leadership. 

Ambassador Sinodinos is accompanied on posting by his wife Elizabeth, and their three children.

Dr Bryce Wakefield is the National Executive Director of the Australian Institute of International Affairs and a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University. He has lived, worked and researched in the United States, Japan, Europe and New Zealand. He trained as a political scientist with particular expertise in International Relations and the international affairs of East Asia.

From 2008 to 2012 Bryce was the associate responsible for Northeast Asian programs at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. In this role, he was responsible for conceiving, designing and organising around 60 events in Washington, including policy briefings in the U.S. Congress, on political issues in Australia, Taiwan, North and South Korea and Japan. He also organised conferences in Tokyo and briefed members of the Japanese Diet. 

From 2012 to 2018, he was a tenured lecturer of area studies and international relations at Leiden University in the Netherlands. In addition to his academic role, he trained Dutch and international diplomats and briefed Dutch government officials on affairs in Asia.

Bryce lived in Japan from 1998 to 2004 and earned his master’s degree from Osaka University’s School of International Public Policy. He earned his PhD in political studies from the University of Auckland.

This event is online with an invitation-only audience. Registrations close on Saturday 12 December at 9:30am AEDT, after which you will receive a follow-up email containing details of how to join the Zoom webinar. The webinar will commence at 10:30am AEDT (Canberra time, UTC+11), which is 6:30pm in Washington DC.