Changes

After the landslide election in 1996 Downer became foreign minister, a position he held for a record  11 and a half years. One of the key features of his time was the re-strengthening of ties with the [[United States of America]] which had been neglected by the [[Bob Hawke|Hawke]] and [[Paul Keating|Keating]] Governments which had primarily focused on Asia. Downer is credited with being a master of foreign affairs as he was able to ally Australia closely with the US, as well as getting Australia a seat at Association of Southeast Asian Nations - something Australia has not had since the organization was formed in 1967 - to the surprise of most critics who said that focusing on the US would come at the expense of regional relations. Downer was a strong support of both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

After the landslide election in 1996 Downer became foreign minister, a position he held for a record  11 and a half years. One of the key features of his time was the re-strengthening of ties with the [[United States of America]] which had been neglected by the [[Bob Hawke|Hawke]] and [[Paul Keating|Keating]] Governments which had primarily focused on Asia. Downer is credited with being a master of foreign affairs as he was able to ally Australia closely with the US, as well as getting Australia a seat at Association of Southeast Asian Nations - something Australia has not had since the organization was formed in 1967 - to the surprise of most critics who said that focusing on the US would come at the expense of regional relations. Downer was a strong support of both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

On July the 3rd 2008, following the defeat at the November 2007 election, Downer announced his retirement from parliment and said he would give his resignation as the Member for Mayo to the Governor-General on the 14th of July.<ref>http://www.alexanderdowner.com.au/Pages/Article.aspx?ID=2366</ref> He was made Visiting Professor of International Politics at the University of Adelaide's School of History & Politics<ref>http://www.adelaide.edu.au/adelaidean/issues/28301/news28381.html</ref> by the Vice Chancellor Professor James McWha. The position entitles him to call himself Professor Downer. He was appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as "Ambassador" in American  media, and served from 2014 to 2018.<ref>Technically, the Queen of England is the [[Head of State]] of Australia, so Downer is not really the representative of a "foreign" government, as Americans would know it. Hence Downer's title is High Commissioner, representing the interests of Australia in London. American media know him as "Ambassador," a distinction without a difference.</ref>

On July the 3rd 2008, following the defeat at the November 2007 election, Downer announced his retirement from parliament and said he would give his resignation as the Member for Mayo to the Governor-General on the 14th of July.<ref>http://www.alexanderdowner.com.au/Pages/Article.aspx?ID=2366</ref> He was made Visiting Professor of International Politics at the University of Adelaide's School of History & Politics<ref>http://www.adelaide.edu.au/adelaidean/issues/28301/news28381.html</ref> by the Vice Chancellor Professor James McWha. The position entitles him to call himself Professor Downer. He was appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as "Ambassador" in American  media, and served from 2014 to 2018.<ref>Technically, the Queen of England is the [[Head of State]] of Australia, so Downer is not really the representative of a "foreign" government, as Americans would know it. Hence Downer's title is High Commissioner, representing the interests of Australia in London. American media know him as "Ambassador," a distinction without a difference.</ref>

==Trump-Russia hoax==

==Trump-Russia hoax==

A lawyer from the Australian embassy contacted Papadopoulos fours days in advance and asked to arrange a meeting between Papadopoulos and Downer. At the meeting, Papadopoulos was ordered to "leave [UK Prime Minister] [[David Cameron]] alone." Papadopoulos had suggested in a London newspaper that Cameron owed Trump an apology for comments critical of Trump.<ref>Papadopoulos said, "I can't speak directly for him but it would seem that if Prime Minister Cameron is serious about reaching out, not only to Mr Trump's advisers but to the man himself, an apology or some sort of retraction should happen.<br>"To see Mr Cameron come out as the most vocal opponent was uncalled for. Considering that we believe that the UK-US relationship should be a cornerstone, not just of [[Nato]] policy but elsewhere, it would be wise for him to reach out in a more positive manner to Mr Trump." Cameron earlier described Trump as "divisive, stupid, and wrong."<br>https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/03/david-cameron-should-reach-out-and-apologise-to-donald-trump-his/</ref> Cameron colluded with [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Barack Obama]] to murder [[Muammar Gaddafi]]<ref>https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/us/politics/hillary-clinton-libya.html</ref> - an ally of the UK and the US,<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/19/extent-of-uk-cooperation-with-gaddafi-regime-libya-mi6-revealed </ref><ref>https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09TRIPOLI677_a.html </ref> - an action that caused the resurgence of black-[[Africa]]n [[slavery]] in [[Libya]]. Obama said at the time it was done for "humanitarian" purposes.<ref>https://blackagendareport.com/remembering-muammar-qaddafi-and-great-libyan-jamahiriya </ref>

A lawyer from the Australian embassy contacted Papadopoulos fours days in advance and asked to arrange a meeting between Papadopoulos and Downer. At the meeting, Papadopoulos was ordered to "leave [UK Prime Minister] [[David Cameron]] alone." Papadopoulos had suggested in a London newspaper that Cameron owed Trump an apology for comments critical of Trump.<ref>Papadopoulos said, "I can't speak directly for him but it would seem that if Prime Minister Cameron is serious about reaching out, not only to Mr Trump's advisers but to the man himself, an apology or some sort of retraction should happen.<br>"To see Mr Cameron come out as the most vocal opponent was uncalled for. Considering that we believe that the UK-US relationship should be a cornerstone, not just of [[Nato]] policy but elsewhere, it would be wise for him to reach out in a more positive manner to Mr Trump." Cameron earlier described Trump as "divisive, stupid, and wrong."<br>https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/03/david-cameron-should-reach-out-and-apologise-to-donald-trump-his/</ref> Cameron colluded with [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Barack Obama]] to murder [[Muammar Gaddafi]]<ref>https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/us/politics/hillary-clinton-libya.html</ref> - an ally of the UK and the US,<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/19/extent-of-uk-cooperation-with-gaddafi-regime-libya-mi6-revealed </ref><ref>https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09TRIPOLI677_a.html </ref> - an action that caused the resurgence of black-[[Africa]]n [[slavery]] in [[Libya]]. Obama said at the time it was done for "humanitarian" purposes.<ref>https://blackagendareport.com/remembering-muammar-qaddafi-and-great-libyan-jamahiriya </ref>

At the time Papadopoulos quit the [[Ben Carson]] campaign to volunteer for Trump, Papadopoulos was lured to London with an offer on a board of a front group known as the London Centre of International Law Practice (LCILP) which he accepted to pad his resume.<ref>https://medium.com/@Brian_Whit/the-trump-russia-affair-and-an-odd-company-in-london-9437e0343db2 </ref> Prof. [[Joseph Mifsud]] also worked with the group. Mifsud introduced Papadopoulos to Russian nationals living in the UK and working with retired UK intelligence officials.<ref>Mifsud told the [[Italian]] publication ''Repubblica'': “I am a member of the European Council on Foreign relations”, he adds, “and you know which is the only foundation I am member of? The [[Clinton Foundation]]. Between you and me, my thinking is [[left-leaning]]. But I predicted Trump’s victory as well as [[Brexit]]. Everyone of us wants peace. If the governments don’t talk each other, we citizens must keep talking”.<br>https://archive.is/uWdib#selection-623.1-623.356 </ref> One pretended to be [[Putin]]'s neice, and the other worked with a Russian think tank in London. Mifsud claimed to have access to Hillary Clinton's emails.<ref>http://al-bab.com/blog/2018/03/saudis-russians-and-italians-murky-world-joseph-mifsud</ref>

At the time Papadopoulos quit the [[Ben Carson]] campaign to volunteer for Trump, Papadopoulos was lured to London with an offer on a board of a front group known as the London Centre of International Law Practice (LCILP) which he accepted to pad his resume.<ref>https://medium.com/@Brian_Whit/the-trump-russia-affair-and-an-odd-company-in-london-9437e0343db2 </ref> Prof. [[Joseph Mifsud]] also worked with the group. Mifsud introduced Papadopoulos to Russian nationals living in the UK and working with retired UK intelligence officials.<ref>Mifsud told the [[Italian]] publication ''Repubblica'': “I am a member of the European Council on Foreign relations”, he adds, “and you know which is the only foundation I am member of? The [[Clinton Foundation]]. Between you and me, my thinking is [[left-leaning]]. But I predicted Trump’s victory as well as [[Brexit]]. Everyone of us wants peace. If the governments don’t talk each other, we citizens must keep talking”.<br>https://archive.is/uWdib#selection-623.1-623.356 </ref> One pretended to be [[Putin]]'s niece, and the other worked with a Russian think tank in London. Mifsud claimed to have access to Hillary Clinton's emails.<ref>http://al-bab.com/blog/2018/03/saudis-russians-and-italians-murky-world-joseph-mifsud</ref>

In September Papadopoulos was lured back to London by [[Stefan Halper]] with a promise of $3000 and airfare to write a paper. Halper and Downer have connections to the shadowy UK security firm of Hakluyt (Halper wrote two books with the Hakluyt representative in the US and Downer sat on its advisory board).<ref>https://themarketswork.com/2018/05/09/dearlove-connections-uk-intel-firm-hakluyt-alexander-downer-stefan-halper-papadopoulos/ </ref> Halper, who publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton, asked Papadopoulos about the emails Hillary Clinton stole from the State Department and National Archives and Records Administration.<ref>https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2016/05/25/inspector-general-emails-n2168766?amp=true</ref>

In September Papadopoulos was lured back to London by [[Stefan Halper]] with a promise of $3000 and airfare to write a paper. Halper and Downer have connections to the shadowy UK security firm of Hakluyt (Halper wrote two books with the Hakluyt representative in the US and Downer sat on its advisory board).<ref>https://themarketswork.com/2018/05/09/dearlove-connections-uk-intel-firm-hakluyt-alexander-downer-stefan-halper-papadopoulos/ </ref> Halper, who publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton, asked Papadopoulos about the emails Hillary Clinton stole from the State Department and National Archives and Records Administration.<ref>https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2016/05/25/inspector-general-emails-n2168766?amp=true</ref>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downer, Alexander}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downer, Alexander}}

[[Category:International Political Figures]][[category:Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax]]

[[Category:International Political Figures]][[Category:Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax]]

[[Category:Australia]]

[[Category:Australia]]