Ian Parmeter

Ian’s field of research is Russian policy towards the Middle East in the Putin era. He worked previously in the Office of National Assessments and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Before taking his current role at the Australian National University, Ian was Assistant Director-General at the then-Office of National Assessments (now Office of National Intelligence) with responsibility for Middle East analysis. In this role he travelled regularly to the Middle East and Washington for liaison with Australian intelligence partners.

Before that he was with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for 25 years, and had diplomatic postings in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Russia (as Deputy Head of Mission) and Lebanon (as Ambassador).

Ian has written commentaries on current Middle East and Russian issues in Australian Outlook, the Lowy Interpreter, the Conversation and Melbourne Asia Review. He has given live interviews to ABC radio and television, SBS and commercial television networks.