1. Frances Jennifer Adamson was born on 20 April 1961 and is an Australian public servant and diplomat who is the 36th Governor of South Australia, in office since 7 October 2021.
16 Facts About Frances Adamson
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Frances Adamson previously served as Australian Ambassador to China from 2011 to 2015 and as secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2016 to 2021.
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Frances Adamson's sister, Christine Adamson is a New South Wales Supreme Court judge.
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Frances Adamson was educated at the Walford Anglican School for Girls and the University of Adelaide, where she received a Bachelor of Economics.
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Frances Adamson was an economist at the Australian Consulate-General in Hong Kong from 1987 to 1991, before moving to London where she worked at the Australian High Commission to the United Kingdom as a political counsellor for five years.
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Frances Adamson returned to Australia to work for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra from 1998 until 2000, and then moved to Taipei where she was Representative to the Australian Commerce and Industry Office for five years.
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Frances Adamson returned to London as Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2005 until 2008.
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Frances Adamson took the role on condition that she could manage her young family, and that as a "career diplomat" she would not get involved in politics.
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Between 2011 and 2015, Frances Adamson held the post of Australian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, the first woman in the position.
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In 2015, Frances Adamson was appointed a foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
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In closing her diplomatic career, Frances Adamson was highly critical of China.
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Frances Adamson served as president of the ACT Division of the Institute of Public Administration Australia from 2017 to 2019 and outlined her views on public service in her final speech as president.
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Frances Adamson was made a National Fellow of IPAA in 2019.
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On 19 May 2021, it was announced by Premier Steven Marshall that Frances Adamson would be succeeding Hieu Van Le as Governor of South Australia in October 2021.
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Frances Adamson was sworn in as Governor of South Australia in a formal ceremony at Government House, Adelaide on 7 October 2021.
16.
Frances Adamson met and married Rod Bunten, a British diplomat, when they were both posted in Hong Kong.