Join Troy Bramston and The Hon Alexander Downer AC in conversation on Robert Menzies the art of politics over lunch at the Arkaba Hotel on Thursday 31 August 2023 12:00pm – 2:00pm (formalities commence at 12:30pm).

Tickets include a two-course lunch and beverages.

The Hon Alexander Downer AC

Mr Downer is the Chairman of the UK think tank Policy Exchange and a trustee of the International Crisis Group. Until June 2023, he was Executive Chair of the International School for Government at King’s College London.

From 2014 to 2018, Mr Downer was Australian High Commissioner to the UK. Prior to this, he was Australia’s longest-serving Minister for Foreign Affairs, a role he held from 1996 to 2007.

Mr Downer also served as Opposition Leader and leader of the Australian Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995 and was Member of the Australian Parliament for Mayo for over 20 years.

In addition to a range of other political and diplomatic roles, he was Executive Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, in which he worked on peace talks between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots.

Troy Bramston

Troy Bramston is a senior writer and columnist with The Australian newspaper. He was previously a columnist with The Sunday Telegraph.

He is the bestselling author or editor of eleven books, including Bob Hawke: demons and destiny (2022), Robert Menzies: the art of politics (2019), and Paul Keating: the big-picture leader (2016). Troy co-authored The Truth of the Palace Letters (2020) and The Dismissal (2015) with Paul Kelly. He is currently writing a biography of Gough Whitlam.

Troy’s biography of Bob Hawke was shortlisted for the Australian Political Book of the Year Award. He was the co-winner of the Australian Book Industry Award for The Dismissal. His biography of Paul Keating was a finalist for the Walkley Award, shortlisted for the National Biography Award, and longlisted for the Australian Book Industry Award. He was awarded the Centenary Medal for services towards the centenary of federation commemorations in 2001.

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