Bob Bowker

Bob Bowker retired from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2008 after a 37-year career working mostly on the Middle East. He was posted to Saudi Arabia from 1974 to 1976, and Syria from 1979 to 1981 with short-term assignments as Chargé d'affaires in Beirut. He was the Australian Ambassador to Jordan from 1989 to 1992. He was Director of External Relations and Public Information, and later Senior Adviser, Policy Research of UNRWA in 1997-1998, based in Gaza and Jerusalem. He was the Australian Ambassador to Egypt (2005-2008) and non-resident Australian Ambassador to Syria, Libya, Tunisia, and Sudan. Bowker is the author of six books on Middle East matters, including a professional memoir with his reflections on key issues, Tomorrow There will be Apricots: An Australian Diplomat in the Arab World, which was published in 2022 and shortlisted for the 2023 ACT Book of the Year.