Stephen Brady
Encyclopedia
Stephen Brady, CVO
(born c. 1959) is a senior Australia
n career diplomat
. In 1999 he and his partner Peter Stephens became the world's first officially acknowledged gay
ambassadorial couple, when they were presented to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
at the start of Brady's posting as Australian Ambassador to Denmark. Since September 2008 he has been the Official Secretary
to the Governor-General of Australia
, Ms Quentin Bryce
, as well as Secretary of the Council of the Order of Australia and Secretary of the Bravery Decorations Council. His father served as Ambassador to Portugal.
. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs
in 1982 as a graduate foreign service officer. After being on secondment and serving as foreign policy adviser to Leaders of the Opposition, he was posted to Dublin where from 1990-91 he was Counsellor and Chargé d'Affaires at the Australian Embassy.
On two occasions he was seconded from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to work in the Office of the Prime Minister as Senior Adviser (Government). He later worked in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
where from 1991-1996 he was responsible for the official Guest of Government program.
In 1999 he was appointed Ambassador to Sweden
with non-resident accreditation as Ambassador to Denmark
, Norway
, Finland
, Iceland
, Estonia
, Latvia
and Lithuania
. Brady was Australia's Representative to three consecutive high level international conferences on combating intolerance and discrimination, held in Stockholm (2000–03).
He made headlines as Australia's and the world's first openly gay
ambassador when on 15 February 1999, he formally presented his partner Peter Stephens to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
. Stephens's passport was initially endorsed "Bearer is a member of the domestic household of the Ambassador", until Brady, who had been in a committed relationship with Stephens since 1983, insisted that it be changed.
In February 2004, he was appointed by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
as Ambassador to The Netherlands
. Brady was instrumental in coordinating arrangements with the Dutch government for Australia's joint military operation in Afghanistan which, according to Australian Chief of the Defence Force
, Air Chief Marshal
Angus Houston
, "he facilitated brilliantly".
While at The Hague, he served as Australia's Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
in The Hague
. On his return to Australia in March 2008 he was appointed Chief of Protocol in DFAT.
On 5 September 2008, Stephen Brady replaced Malcolm Hazell
as Official Secretary to the new Governor-General of Australia
, Quentin Bryce
. When Hazell was informed that he would not be kept on as official secretary, the federal Opposition threatened to raise the matter in parliament. However, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
defended the Governor-General's decision as an exercise of an incoming viceroy's right to appoint her staff.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(born c. 1959) is a senior Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n career diplomat
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
. In 1999 he and his partner Peter Stephens became the world's first officially acknowledged gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
ambassadorial couple, when they were presented to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...
at the start of Brady's posting as Australian Ambassador to Denmark. Since September 2008 he has been the Official Secretary
Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia
The Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia and his staff provide governors-general with the necessary support to enable them to carry out their constitutional, statutory, ceremonial and public duties. The position of Official Secretary was established in 1901, although only...
to the Governor-General of Australia
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
, Ms Quentin Bryce
Quentin Bryce
Quentin Bryce, AC, CVO is the 25th and current Governor-General of Australia and former Governor of Queensland....
, as well as Secretary of the Council of the Order of Australia and Secretary of the Bravery Decorations Council. His father served as Ambassador to Portugal.
Career
Brady studied an honours degree in international relations at the Australian National UniversityAustralian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a department of the government of Australia charged with advancing the interests of Australia and its citizens internationally...
in 1982 as a graduate foreign service officer. After being on secondment and serving as foreign policy adviser to Leaders of the Opposition, he was posted to Dublin where from 1990-91 he was Counsellor and Chargé d'Affaires at the Australian Embassy.
On two occasions he was seconded from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to work in the Office of the Prime Minister as Senior Adviser (Government). He later worked in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia)
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is an Australian Government department. The Department was first established in 1911...
where from 1991-1996 he was responsible for the official Guest of Government program.
In 1999 he was appointed Ambassador to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
with non-resident accreditation as Ambassador to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. Brady was Australia's Representative to three consecutive high level international conferences on combating intolerance and discrimination, held in Stockholm (2000–03).
He made headlines as Australia's and the world's first openly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
ambassador when on 15 February 1999, he formally presented his partner Peter Stephens to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...
. Stephens's passport was initially endorsed "Bearer is a member of the domestic household of the Ambassador", until Brady, who had been in a committed relationship with Stephens since 1983, insisted that it be changed.
In February 2004, he was appointed by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
as Ambassador to The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Brady was instrumental in coordinating arrangements with the Dutch government for Australia's joint military operation in Afghanistan which, according to Australian Chief of the Defence Force
Chief of the Defence Force (Australia)
Chief of the Defence Force is the most senior appointment in the Australian Defence Force . The CDF commands the ADF under the direction of the Minister of Defence, in a coequal arrangement with the Secretary of Defence, the most senior public servant in the Department of Defence.The position is a...
, Air Chief Marshal
Air Chief Marshal (Australia)
Air chief marshal is the highest active rank of the Royal Australian Air Force and was created as a direct equivalent of the British Royal Air Force rank of air chief marshal. It is also considered a four-star rank...
Angus Houston
Angus Houston
Air Chief Marshal Allan Grant "Angus" Houston AC, AFC is a retired senior commander of the Royal Australian Air Force and was the Chief of the Defence Force from 4 July 2005 until his retirement on 3 July 2011...
, "he facilitated brilliantly".
While at The Hague, he served as Australia's Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is an intergovernmental organization, located in The Hague, Netherlands. The organization promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention which prohibits of the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction...
in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. On his return to Australia in March 2008 he was appointed Chief of Protocol in DFAT.
On 5 September 2008, Stephen Brady replaced Malcolm Hazell
Malcolm Hazell
Malcolm John Hazell CVO AM is a retired Australian public servant. He was the Official Secretary to two Governors-General of Australia, Peter Hollingworth and Major-General Michael Jeffery .-Biography:...
as Official Secretary to the new Governor-General of Australia
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
, Quentin Bryce
Quentin Bryce
Quentin Bryce, AC, CVO is the 25th and current Governor-General of Australia and former Governor of Queensland....
. When Hazell was informed that he would not be kept on as official secretary, the federal Opposition threatened to raise the matter in parliament. However, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
defended the Governor-General's decision as an exercise of an incoming viceroy's right to appoint her staff.
Honours
- Brady was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) by HM The Queen of Australia for services the the Australian Crown in October 2011.
- On 30 April 2009, Queen Beatrix of The NetherlandsBeatrix of the NetherlandsBeatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
, in her birthday honours list, awarded Brady the highest Dutch honour ever bestowed on an Australian, for his ambassadorial success in The Netherlands. He was later invested at the Dutch Embassy in CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
by Ambassador Willem Andreae with the insignia of a Knight of the Royal Order of Orange-NassauOrder of Orange-NassauThe Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
.