Alfred Parsons

Who was Alfred Parsons?

Alfred Roy Parsons AO was an Australian diplomat from 1947 to 1988. He was the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1987, only the second career diplomat to hold the position.

Parsons was born in Hobart and educated at Hobart High School and the University of Tasmania. He joined the then Department of External Affairs in Canberra in 1947. He was posted to Australian missions in Jakarta, Rangoon, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Berlin, the United Nations, and London. His postings to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and London were as High Commissioner. From 1976 to 1984, he was a deputy secretary of the department, responsible for Asian affairs.

He died in Canberra in 2010, aged 85, survived by his wife, Jill, two sons and a daughter.