FORMER FM DOWNER NEW UN ENVOY ON CYPRUS

UNCLAS CANBERRA 000670 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR CY AS SUBJECT: FORMER FM DOWNER NEW UN ENVOY ON CYPRUS REF: CANBERRA 530 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Alexander Downer, former foreign minister under John Howard and Australia's longest serving Foreign Minister, told an AUSTRALIAN newspaper June 30 that he would announce his retirement from politics when he returned to Australia from Europe at the end of the week. He will work for a consulting company in Adelaide and become the United Nations special envoy to Cyprus. A conservative and sometime critic of the United Nations, Downer is a staunch supporter of the Australia-US Alliance and a vigorous defender of the Iraq war. He was a member of former Prime Minister John Howard's "inner circle." The current AUSTRALIAN Labor Government has backed Downer's appointment as special envoy. END SUMMARY DOWNER'S PLANS ¶2. (SBU) Downer was reelected to his seat in Parliament in the November 2007 election that saw the government of John Howard lose to Kevin Rudd and the AUSTRALIAN Labor Party. After the election Downer became a Liberal Party backbencher. He maintained until this week that he had not decided what to do but rumors had circulated for several months that he would be leaving, and that he was just waiting for the right time to make the announcement. Downer will work for a newly-formed political consulting company in Adelaide called Bespoke Approach. He will also accept the UN Secretary General's offer to serve as his special envoy for Cyprus (reftel). Of the Cyprus role, Downer was quoted as saying that "these things are always untidy. It's never easy to do. We ended the civil war in Bougainville (PNG). We played our part in IRAQ and Afghanistan. Why not try and fix up Cyprus as well?" STRONG SUPPORTER OF THE US ¶3. (U) A Federal MP for almost 25 years and from the Right of the conservative Liberal Party, Downer is Australia's longest serving Foreign Minister, having held that position throughout the life of the Howard government (1996-2007). He is a strong supporter of the Australia-US Alliance. Challenges he faced as Foreign Minister included East Timor's transition to independence, Australia's growing economic relationship with China, failed states in the Pacific, negotiating the Lombok security treatment with Indonesia, the Australian WHEAT Board's "wheat for weapons" scandal involving IRAQ under Saddam Hussein, and the invasion of Iraq. ¶4. (SBU) Downer was Opposition Leader from 1994-95, a period notable for a series of gaffes and blunders which significantly lowered his standing among political observers. He admits now that he was too inexperienced for that job. Downer voluntarily handed over the leadership to John Howard, who became Prime Minister the following year. Downer became Foreign Minister. In that role he was disciplined and one of the government's most forceful advocates. Downer is part of a well-known AUSTRALIAN political dynasty. His father was Immigration Minister in the conservative Menzies government (he later became High Commissioner to London) and his grandfather was twice premier of South Australia. Downer worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs 1976-82. He was also an adviser to Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and Liberal Leader Andrew Peacock, and head of the AUSTRALIAN Chamber of Commerce. He won his seat in December 1984. COMMENT: A CONSERVATIVE AND NOT ALWAYS A FAN OF THE UN ¶5. (SBU) Downer makes no apologies for being a conservative and a strong defender of individual liberty. He said as he and a strong defender of individual liberty. He said as he discussed his retirement from politics that he will continue to speak out in defense of individual rights and against what he sees as the Labor Party's need to run people's lives. He has a reputation for being forthright and pugnacious. In 2003, Downer criticized the UN and multilateralism as "a synonym for an ineffective and unfocused policy involving internationalism of the lowest common denominator," and called for more "coalitions of the willing" to deal with security threats. At various times, he also criticized UN human rights bodies for their reports on Australia. He says the UN "is only as good as its members", citing the Zimbabwe crisis as an example of where it has been ineffective. MCCALLUM