Paul O'Sullivan

Paul Thomas O'Sullivan , (born 3 February 1948) is an Australian diplomat and public servant who served as Australia's High Commissioner to New Zealand and as former Director-General of Security. O'Sullivan accepted a role as a political advisor for the Abbott government in 2013. Background and career O'Sullivan attended Marcellin College, Randwick, and graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons). Public service and diplomatic career After joining the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1971, O'Sullivan held diplomatic appointments in Rome, Washington, D.C. and Cairo. Between 1991 and 1994 he was the Australian representative to the UN disarmament office. From 1994 to 1996 he headed two divisions in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. After serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Washington, O'Sullivan was appointed as the Australian Ambassador to Germany in 1999. O'Sullivan was a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade between 2003 and 2004. He was appointed as Senior Advisor (International) to Prime Minister John Howard in January 2004, taking up his appointment to head the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in July 2005. Between 2004 and 2005 O'Sullivan was concurrently a Commissioner of the National Crime Commission.