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Ric Wells

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Australian diplomat and senior public servant

Ric Wells
Official photograph of middle aged man with grey hair and no other facial hair, wearing a suit, smiling into the camera.
Australian Ambassador to France
In office
2012–2014
Preceded byDavid Ritchie
Succeeded byStephen Brady
Personal details
Born (1955-10-20) 20 October 1955 (age 69)
Sydney, Australia
SpouseErica Wells
EducationNewington College
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
OccupationSenior public servant with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
ProfessionDiplomat

Ric Lawson Wells (born 20 October 1955 is an Australian former diplomat and senior public servant with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Wells' senior postings included Australia’s Ambassador to France from 2011 until 2014 and two terms as Deputy Secretary of DFAT.

Early life and education

Wells was born in Sydney and attended Newington College (1968–1973). In his first year at Newington he shared the B S Tame Prize as one of two duces of First Form and again was co-dux in 1971 when he shared the Stretton Waterhouse Memorial Prize in Fourth Form. At the end of 1972 he was Proxime accessit in the Fifth Form and was awarded one of three Wigram Allen Scholarships. In his final year, in 1973, Wells shared the George Lane Prize as Proxime accesserunt and was also awarded the Richard Thompson Memorial Prize for Debating. At the University of Sydney he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in 1978.

Career

After commencing employment with DFAT, Wells had postings to Cairo (1982-1985) and Jakarta (1987-1989). He was Assistant Secretary, Services and Intellectual Property Branch (1994-1995) and was Deputy Head of the Australian Mission to the World Trade Organization in Geneva (1995-1999). Wells served as an Assistant Secretary in the Trade Policy and Industrials Branch during 1999. From 2000 until 2002 he was an Assistant Secretary of the Asia, Americas and Trade Branch in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. During 2002 he headed the White Paper Task Force And in the following year was appointed the First Assistant Secretary of the South Pacific, Africa and Middle East Division.

Between 2005 and 2009, Wells was the Head of the China Free Trade Agreement Task Force, the Head of the Japan Free Trade Agreement Task Force, and the Head of the Korea Free Trade Agreement Task Force. In May 2007 Wells told Australian politicians that the agreement was progressing slowly because "the Chinese Government doesn't want an FTA". The China–Australia Free Trade Agreement was signed in 2015.

In the years before his appointment as Ambassador to France, Wells was both the Deputy Secretary of DFAT and Australia’s Ambassador to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group. Upon his return to Australia in 2014, Wells again served as Deputy Secretary of DFAT and, in 2016, conjointly held the role of Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

References

  1. Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998. Sydney: Newington College. 1999. p. 212.
  2. "Biography of Ric Wells". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australian Government. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  3. Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998. Sydney: Newington College. 1999. p. 212.
  4. Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998. Sydney: Newington College. 1999. p. Part 2 - The Lists.
  5. "Alumni Sidneienses". University of Sydney. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  6. Crean, Simon; Smith, Stephen (13 July 2009). "Appointment of APEC Ambassador" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009.
  7. "Australia-China FTA talks slow". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. AAP. 15 February 2007. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008.
  8. Toy, Mary-Anne (23 June 2007). "Talk is free, but no China deal". The Age. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 28 June 2007.
  9. Australian Embassy, France (2012), Mr Ric Wells (PDF), Australian Government, archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2012
  10. Rudd, Kevin (23 May 2011). "Diplomatic Appointment – Ambassador to France" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014.
  11. "Peter Varghese, secretary of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to step down". ABC News. Australia. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  12. "Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, 5 October 2016 - participants list" (Press release). Council of the European Union. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  13. "Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade calls on Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs" (Press release). Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded byDavid Spencer Australian Ambassador for APEC
2009–2011 		Succeeded byDavid Spencer
Preceded byDavid Ritchie Australian Ambassador to France
2011–2014 		Succeeded byStephen Brady
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