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Jan Adams AO PSM (Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

Jan Adams AO PSM

Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Jan Adams AO PSM was appointed Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on 1 July 2022. Prior to this, Ms Adams was Australia's Ambassador to Japan from November 2020 to June 2022 and before that Australia's Ambassador to China from 2016 to 2019.

From April 2013 to 2016, Ms Adams was Deputy Secretary with responsibility for trade and economic issues. In this role she oversaw Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations and the conclusion of free trade agreements with China, Korea and Japan. She previously led the department's Free Trade Agreement Division.

Ms Adams served as Ambassador for the Environment and Ambassador for Climate Change between 2005 and 2008 and as Minister Counsellor (Trade) in Washington from 2000 to 2004.
Ms Adams joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1999 as Assistant Secretary, APEC Branch.

From 1993 to 1996, Ms Adams was an Adviser to the Minister for Trade and Minister for Industry, Science and Technology. She also previously worked in the OECD secretariat in Paris (Trade and Environment Directorates) and at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

In 2016, Ms Adams was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to international relations through the advancement of Australia's diplomatic and free trade relationships, particularly with the United States of America, South Korea, Japan and China.

In 2007, she was awarded the Public Service Medal (PSM) for outstanding public service in pursuing Australia's international objectives on trade and the environment.

Ms Adams holds Honours degrees in Economics and Law from Monash University and is a Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. She grew up in Wodonga, Victoria and is married with one adult son.

Allan Gyngell AO FAIIA (National President of the Australian Institute of International Affairs)

Allan Gyngell AO FAIIA

National President of the Australian Institute of International Affairs

Allan Gyngell AO was appointed the National President of the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) in September 2017, having previously been named a Fellow of the AIIA in 2010.

He is an honorary professor with the Australian National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific and a director of China Matters.

Mr Gyngell has had an extensive career in Australian international affairs. He was the Director-General of the Australian Office of National Assessments (ONA) from 2009 to 2013. Prior to leading the ONA, he was the founding Executive Director of the Lowy Institute for International Policy from 2003 to 2009.

Additionally, he has worked at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, serving as an Australian diplomat in Rangoon, Singapore and Washington. He was Senior Advisor (International) to Prime Minister Paul Keating between 1993 and 1996.

Mr Gyngell was appointed as an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2009 for services to international relations. In 2007, he co-authored Making Australian Foreign Policy with Michael Wesley. An updated edition of his history of Australian foreign policy, Fear of Abandonment: Australia in the World Since 1942, was released in 2021. He is the co-presenter of the Australia in the World podcast.