Peter Abigail

Major General Peter John Abigail AO (born 6 April 1948) is a retired Australian Army officer who held a number of senior commands, including Deputy Chief of Army (1998–2000) and Land Commander Australia (2000–2002). Following retirement from the Australian Defence Force, he became Head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in April 2005. He also served as a member of the three-man Ministerial Advisory Panel for the 2009 Defence White Paper.

Early life
Abigail was born on 6 April 1948 in Sydney, New South Wales, to William Henry Abigail and his wife Catherine (née McPhail).

Army career
Abigail spent 37 years in the Army. Following promotion to major general in December 1996, he served in a range of senior leadership appointments.

As Assistant Chief of the Defence Force (Policy and Strategic Guidance) and then Head Strategic Policy and Plans (Australian Defence Headquarters) (1996–1998) he was responsible for key aspects of Defence policy, military strategy and capability development.

As Deputy Chief of Army (1998–2000) he was responsible for managing the Army and its interaction with other Defence stakeholders.

In his final appointment, as Land Commander Australia (2000–2002), he commanded all of the Army's operational forces, full-time and reserves, including those that were committed to operations in East Timor, Bougainville and Afghanistan.

Abigail retired from the Army in 2002.

Post-military
In 2003, Abigail formed a private company, Peter Abigail & Associates Pty Limited, specialising in strategic consultancy services. He joined the Australian Strategic Policy Institute as director in April 2005.

Honours and awards

 * Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
 * National Medal