Difference between revisions of "Paul O'Sullivan"

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'''Paul O'Sullivan''' is an [[Australian]] [[spook]]. He was [[ASIO Director-General of Security]] for almost 4 years.
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'''Paul Thomas O'Sullivan''' <ref name=birth>http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18060090</ref> is an [[Australia]]n [[diplomat]] and [[intelligence official]] who was Australia's [[High Commissioner (Commonwealth)|High Commissioner]] to [[New Zealand]] and as former [[Director-General of Security]]. O'Sullivan accepted a role as a [[political advisor]] for the [[Abbott Government]] in 2013.
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==Background and career==
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O'Sullivan attended [[Marcellin College Randwick|Marcellin College]], [[Randwick, New South Wales|Randwick]],<ref>http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/read-all-about-it--soon-it-will-be-a-crime/2005/10/27/1130400311075.html</ref> and graduated from the [[University of Sydney]] with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons).
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===Public service and diplomatic career===
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After joining the [[Department of Foreign Affairs (Australia)|Department of Foreign Affairs]] in 1971, O'Sullivan held diplomatic appointments in [[Rome]], [[Washington, D.C.]] and [[Cairo]]. Between 1991 and 1994 he was the Australian representative to the [[United Nations|UN]] [[United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs|disarmament office]]. From 1994 to 1996 he headed two divisions in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. After serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Washington, O'Sullivan was appointed as the Australian [[Ambassador]] to [[Germany]] in 1999.<ref name=Downer>https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000413/http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/1999/fa010_99.html</ref>
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O'Sullivan was a Deputy Secretary in the [[Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)|Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade]] between 2003 and 2004. He was appointed as Senior Advisor (International) to [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[John Howard]] in January 2004,<ref>http://www.companydirectors.com.au/About/Speakers/O/Paul+OSullivan.htm</ref> taking up his appointment to head the [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]] in July 2005.<ref>http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/howard-adviser-lands-top-spy-job/2005/07/10/1120934115638.html</ref> Between 2004 and 2005 O'Sullivan was concurrently a Commissioner of the [[Australian Crime Commission|National Crime Commission]].<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20131111142804/http://www.aiyd.org/past-dialogues/2013-dialogue/speakers-profile/</ref>
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O'Sullivan's appointment as Director-General of Security was criticised by former [[Australian Secret Intelligence Service]] officer Warren Reed, who claimed that in 1984 O'Sullivan with his loose talk blew Reed's cover while serving as deputy to the Australian Ambassador in Cairo, leading to the abduction of Reed's operational assistant by Egyptian security agents and the closure of the ASIS station in Cairo.<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/new-asio-chief-blew-cairo-spys-cover/2005/07/16/1121455937876.html</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20131111143453/http://sgp1.paddington.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/political_transcripts/article_1830.asp?s=1 </ref>
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Within weeks of his appointment to lead ASIO, the [[7 July 2005 London bombings]] occurred amid domestic calls for draconian counter-terrorism laws, followed some months later with the [[2005 Bali bombings]], leaving four Australian tourists dead.<ref>http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/spy-chief-gives-little-away-at-first-outing/2005/10/13/1128796655286.html</ref><ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/war-on-terror/asio-chief-warns-of-attacks-in-australia/2005/10/13/1128796656176.html</ref><ref>http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/citizen-to-terrorist-a-quick-step/2006/03/12/1142098346981.html </ref> In 2006, O'Sullivan warned that terrorists could carry out attacks on hotels and restaurants in Australia.<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/asio-warns-of-domestic-terror-risks/2006/05/04/1146335868615.html </ref>
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Following actions by two ASIO agents that a [[Supreme Court of New South Wales|Supreme Court]] [[Judge|Justice]] stated was probably criminal and constituted kidnapping under the law, the court dismissed legal proceedings after assessing the ASIO interviews were [[Admissible evidence|inadmissible]]. O'Sullivan defended his agency, although he did admit that changes have been made to ASIO's procedures.<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/05/2110283.htm</ref>
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====Role in "Oil for Food" scandal====
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According to evidence presented, in March 2006, to the [[Cole Inquiry]], an Australian [[Royal Commission]] into the [[Oil-for-Food Programme|"oil for food" scandal]], in June 2005 while serving as senior international advisor to the Prime Minister, O'Sullivan advised executives of the [[Australian Wheat Board]] (AWB) against full co-operation with a [[Paul Volcker Committee|United Nations inquiry]] into allegations that the AWB had breached UN sanctions by paying kickbacks to the regime of former Iraqi dictator [[Sadaam Hussein]]. Notes tendered to the Cole Inquiry showed that O'Sullivan told AWB executives to "[k]eep your responses narrow [and] technical. Do not blame US, complain about process." Prime Minister John Howard had officially ordered full co-operation with the UN inquiry.<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1603157.htm </ref> O'Sullivan was gagged from commenting further in public, while the Cole Inquiry was in progress.<ref>http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/spy-chief-gagged-on-awb/2006/02/14/1139679565112.html |</ref>
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===Political advisor===
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On 1 November 2013, O'Sullivan commenced appointment as [[Chief of Staff]] to the [[Attorney-General of Australia|Attorney-General]], [[George Brandis]].<ref>http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Mediareleases/Pages/2013/Fourth%20quarter/17-October-2013---Mr-Paul-O%27Sullivan-AO.aspx </ref><ref>http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/10/18/brandis-staffing-coup-points-to-national-security-focus/</ref>
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==References==
 
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Latest revision as of 20:13, 20 February 2023

Person.png Paul O'Sullivan  Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(spook, diplomat)
Paul O'Sullivan (1).jpg
Born3 February 1948
Sydney, New South Wales
NationalityAustralian
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
SpouseMerrilyn O'Sullivan
ASIO Director-General of Security

Employment.png ASIO/Director-General of Security Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
10 July 2005 - 28 February 2009
Succeeded byDavid Irvine

Paul Thomas O'Sullivan [1] is an Australian diplomat and intelligence official who was Australia's High Commissioner to New Zealand and as former Director-General of Security. O'Sullivan accepted a role as a political advisor for the Abbott Government in 2013.

Background and career

O'Sullivan attended Marcellin College, Randwick,[2] and graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons).

Public service and diplomatic career

After joining the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1971, O'Sullivan held diplomatic appointments in Rome, Washington, D.C. and Cairo. Between 1991 and 1994 he was the Australian representative to the UN disarmament office. From 1994 to 1996 he headed two divisions in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. After serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Washington, O'Sullivan was appointed as the Australian Ambassador to Germany in 1999.[3]

O'Sullivan was a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade between 2003 and 2004. He was appointed as Senior Advisor (International) to Prime Minister John Howard in January 2004,[4] taking up his appointment to head the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in July 2005.[5] Between 2004 and 2005 O'Sullivan was concurrently a Commissioner of the National Crime Commission.[6]

O'Sullivan's appointment as Director-General of Security was criticised by former Australian Secret Intelligence Service officer Warren Reed, who claimed that in 1984 O'Sullivan with his loose talk blew Reed's cover while serving as deputy to the Australian Ambassador in Cairo, leading to the abduction of Reed's operational assistant by Egyptian security agents and the closure of the ASIS station in Cairo.[7][8]

Within weeks of his appointment to lead ASIO, the 7 July 2005 London bombings occurred amid domestic calls for draconian counter-terrorism laws, followed some months later with the 2005 Bali bombings, leaving four Australian tourists dead.[9][10][11] In 2006, O'Sullivan warned that terrorists could carry out attacks on hotels and restaurants in Australia.[12]

Following actions by two ASIO agents that a Supreme Court Justice stated was probably criminal and constituted kidnapping under the law, the court dismissed legal proceedings after assessing the ASIO interviews were inadmissible. O'Sullivan defended his agency, although he did admit that changes have been made to ASIO's procedures.[13]

Role in "Oil for Food" scandal

According to evidence presented, in March 2006, to the Cole Inquiry, an Australian Royal Commission into the "oil for food" scandal, in June 2005 while serving as senior international advisor to the Prime Minister, O'Sullivan advised executives of the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) against full co-operation with a United Nations inquiry into allegations that the AWB had breached UN sanctions by paying kickbacks to the regime of former Iraqi dictator Sadaam Hussein. Notes tendered to the Cole Inquiry showed that O'Sullivan told AWB executives to "[k]eep your responses narrow [and] technical. Do not blame US, complain about process." Prime Minister John Howard had officially ordered full co-operation with the UN inquiry.[14] O'Sullivan was gagged from commenting further in public, while the Cole Inquiry was in progress.[15]

Political advisor

On 1 November 2013, O'Sullivan commenced appointment as Chief of Staff to the Attorney-General, George Brandis.[16][17]


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References

  1. ↑ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18060090
  2. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/read-all-about-it--soon-it-will-be-a-crime/2005/10/27/1130400311075.html
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000413/http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/1999/fa010_99.html
  4. ↑ http://www.companydirectors.com.au/About/Speakers/O/Paul+OSullivan.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/howard-adviser-lands-top-spy-job/2005/07/10/1120934115638.html
  6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20131111142804/http://www.aiyd.org/past-dialogues/2013-dialogue/speakers-profile/
  7. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/new-asio-chief-blew-cairo-spys-cover/2005/07/16/1121455937876.html
  8. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20131111143453/http://sgp1.paddington.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/political_transcripts/article_1830.asp?s=1
  9. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/spy-chief-gives-little-away-at-first-outing/2005/10/13/1128796655286.html
  10. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/news/war-on-terror/asio-chief-warns-of-attacks-in-australia/2005/10/13/1128796656176.html
  11. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/citizen-to-terrorist-a-quick-step/2006/03/12/1142098346981.html
  12. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/asio-warns-of-domestic-terror-risks/2006/05/04/1146335868615.html
  13. ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/05/2110283.htm
  14. ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1603157.htm
  15. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/spy-chief-gagged-on-awb/2006/02/14/1139679565112.html |
  16. ↑ http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Mediareleases/Pages/2013/Fourth%20quarter/17-October-2013---Mr-Paul-O%27Sullivan-AO.aspx
  17. ↑ http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/10/18/brandis-staffing-coup-points-to-national-security-focus/
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