Ian Kemish is a former senior Australian diplomat and business executive. His Australian Government career included service as High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Ambassador to Germany, head of Southeast Asia Division at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and head of International Division at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. He led the Australian Consular Service from 2000-2004 and was awarded membership of the Order of Australia for his management of Australia’s response to the 2002 Bali bombings.  

After leaving DFAT in 2013, Ian joined the international resource sector. This culminated in a four-year term as Chief People and Sustainability Officer at Newcrest, where he led the company’s sustainability, government and community support efforts across Australia, the Indo-Pacific, and the Americas. He introduced the company’s first sustainability framework, greenhouse gas emission targets and biodiversity protection standards.

Ian now advises several Australian and international companies on international issues and chairs two non-profit organisations: the Kokoda Track Foundation, which work with people and communities to improve the lives and futures of Papua New Guineans; and 3rd Space, a day centre for people experiencing homelessness in Brisbane.    He is also a director of the Australia-Indonesia Centre and an Adjunct Professor in History at the University of Queensland.

Ian is the author of The Consul, published by UQP in July 2022, which offers an insider perspective on how the Australian consular service has risen to multiple crises over the last two decades.

Ian is an Honours graduate in Southeast Asian history from the University of Queensland and holds a postgraduate secondary teaching diploma from Queensland University of Technology. He grew up in PNG and Australia, and speaks PNG Tok Pisin, Indonesian and German.