Ruth Dobson

OBE
Born
Ruth Violet Lissant Dobson

(1918-10-05)5 October 1918
Neutral Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Died14 December 1989(1989-12-14) (aged 71)
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
EducationUniversity of Sydney (BA)
Occupations
  • Public servant
  • diplomat

Ruth Violet Lissant Dobson OBE (5 October 1918 – 14 December 1989) was an Australian public servant and diplomat.

Life and career

Ruth Dobson was born in Neutral Bay, NSW on 5 October 1918. Her younger sister was the poet Rosemary Dobson. Dobson was just seven years old when her father died.[1][2]

Dobson joined the Commonwealth Public Service in 1943 as a research assistant in the Department of External Affairs,[3][4] having unsuccessfully applied for a cadetship earlier that year.[1]

In 1965, Dobson was seconded to Government House as private secretary to Lady Casey.[1] Her 16 month secondment was followed by an appointment as First Secretary in the Australian Embassy in the Philippines.[5]

In 1974, when appointed Australian Ambassador to Denmark, Dobson became the first Australian woman career diplomat to be appointed an ambassador.[6] She was the second Australian woman to work in an ambassadorial role—Dame Annabelle Rankin had been appointed High Commissioner to New Zealand in 1971, but Rankin's was a political appointment.[7]

In 1978, Dobson was appointed Australian Ambassador to Ireland.[8] At the end of the posting, in 1981, Dobson retired.[7]

Dobson died on 14 December 1989 in Canberra.[1]

Awards and honours

Dobson was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1982, in recognition of her services to the Australian Public Service.[9]

In late 2016, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade named one of its 16 meeting rooms in honour of Dobson, in recognition of her work as a pioneering female diplomat.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Marchant, Syliva (2007), "Dobson, Ruth Violet (1918–1989)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 10 February 2016
  2. ^ Dobson, Ruth; Hamilton, Ian (1984), Ruth Dobson interviewed by Ian Hamilton, retrieved 10 February 2016
  3. ^ "Obituary: Ruth Dobson - A Brilliant Career". The Canberra Times. ACT. 20 December 1989. p. 2.
  4. ^ Downer, Alexander (8 March 2005). "Speech notes: To launch the DFAT Exhibition "Women Working for Australia" On the occasion of International Women's Day 2005" (Press release). Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
  5. ^ "En route to Manila". The Canberra Times. ACT. 26 January 1967. p. 19.
  6. ^ "New envoy guest speaker". The Canberra Times. ACT. 3 May 1974. p. 7.
  7. ^ a b Goodall, Bill (26 December 1983). "Life not busy enough for a former ambassador". The Canberra Times. ACT. p. 6.
  8. ^ "Reception". The Canberra Times. ACT. 4 November 1978. p. 8.
  9. ^ Search Australian Honours: DOBSON, Ruth Lissant, The Order of the British Empire - Officer (Civil), Australian Government, archived from the original on 11 February 2016
  10. ^ Lewis, Rosie (11 January 2017). "DFAT renames meeting rooms after female diplomats". The Australian. News Corp. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
Diplomatic posts Preceded byGerald Hardingas Chargé d'affaires Australian Ambassador to Denmark 1974–1978 Succeeded byJames Humphreys Preceded byBrian Hill Australian Ambassador to Ireland 1978–1981 Succeeded byLloyd Thomson
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