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Alex McGoldrick

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Alex McGoldrick
Born
NationalityAustralian
Alma materAustralian National University
OccupationDiplomat

Alexander J. McGoldrick is an Australian author and a former public servant and diplomat. He was Australian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1988 to 1991, during the Gulf War.

Life and career

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McGoldrick was born in Ballarat. He graduated from the Australian National University.[1]

In the late 1970s, McGoldrick was a first assistance secretary in the Department of Overseas Trade.[2] In 1980, McGoldrick was appointed Senior Trade Commissioner in Brussels.[3]

Between 1985 and 1988 McGoldrick was Australia's Ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris.[4] He took up an appointment as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 1988.[5] His posting in Riyadh until 1991 included the duration of the Gulf War.[6][7] In 1989 McGoldrick took part in negotiations regarding the live export trade after Saudi Arabia rejected five shiploads of Australian live sheep.[8]

McGoldrick self-published his book A Memoir of Arabia in 2010. The book offers an account of the time he spent in the Middle East during the Gulf War.[9] In 2011 it was highly commended by judges for the ACT Writers Centre awards.[10]

Literary works

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  • McGoldrick, Alex (2002). Two Families. ISBN 0958022607.
  • McGoldrick, A. J. (2010). A Memoir of Arabia. ISBN 9780958022613.

References

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  1. ^ Events @ paperchain: Alex McGoldrick, A Memoir of Arabia - Tue 5 Oct 2010, Paperchain Bookstore, 2010, archived from the original on 12 July 2016
  2. ^ "Australian views lead to impasse". The Canberra Times. 6 February 1976. p. 13.
  3. ^ "Trade post". The Canberra Times. 14 January 1980.
  4. ^ "New envoys named to OECD, Solomons". The Canberra Times. 16 August 1985. p. 3.
  5. ^ "Ambassador announced". The Canberra Times. 9 January 1988. p. 3.
  6. ^ "New ambassador for Riyadh". The Canberra Times. 23 March 1991. p. 16.
  7. ^ Brock, John (1 March 1991). "Telecom workers take care". The Canberra Times. p. 16.
  8. ^ Scott, Keith (24 August 1989). "Aust warns Saudis on 'serious' trade implications of sheep row". The Canberra Times. p. 5.
  9. ^ Barratt, Paul (19 September 2010), Alex McGoldrick's 'A Memoir of Arabia', archived from the original on 13 March 2016
  10. ^ 2011 ACT Writers Centre awards results, ACT Writers Centre, 2011, archived from the original on 25 October 2012
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Fred Argy
Australian Ambassador to the OECD in Paris
1985–1988
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Alan Brown
Australian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Australian Ambassador to Bahrain
Australian Ambassador to
the United Arab Emirates

Australian Ambassador to Yemen
Australian Ambassador to Oman

1988–1991
Succeeded by
Malcolm Leader