Dennis J. Richardson was appointed Ambassador of Australia to the United States in June 2005. Born in 1947, he holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sydney. In 1969 he joined Australia’s foreign service. He served in Nairobi, Kenya; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; and Jakarta, Indonesia. He then had different jobs in the Departments of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Foreign Affairs and Trade and Immigration. From 1990 to 1991 Richardson was Principal Advisor to the Prime Minister. In 1992 he was Head of the Review of the Intelligence Community post Cold War. From 1993 to 1996 he was Deputy Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. Most recently, prior to his appointment as Ambassador, he served as Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, starting in 1996.