Duncan Lewis

Major General Duncan Edward Lewis AO, DSC, CSC (born 1953) is the current Australian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He is a retired Australian Army officer, and formerly Special Operations Commander Australia (2002–2004), National Security Advisor, and Secretary of the Department of Defence.

Military career
Duncan Lewis graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1975. Following graduation, he was assigned to the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New South Wales and a Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies and Management from Deakin University. He attended the British Army Staff College, Camberley and the U.S. Army War College.

During his career, Lewis served three postings with the Special Air Service Regiment, later commanding the Regiment from1990 to 1992. For this service, Lewis was decorated with the Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC).

From 1994 to 1996, Lewis was Australian Army Attache in Jakarta, and during the INTERFET period he was appointed the Australian Defence Force (ADF) spokesman on East Timor.

Lewis was promoted to Brigadier in January 2000 and appointed Commander Sector West UNTAET in East Timor, where he commanded Australian and New Zealand forces. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for his accomplishments with the unit.

Lewis assumed his appointment as Commander Special Forces in January 2001, and was promoted to the rank of Major General on 19 December 2002. In the Australia Day Honours list of 2005, Lewis was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.

Post-military career
Subsequent to his retirement from the Army in 2005, Lewis joined the Australian Public Service and was appointed to the position of First Assistant Secretary of the National Security Division in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. In December 2008 he began serving as National Security Adviser to the Rudd Labor Government. On 5 August 2011 it was announced that he would be appointed the Secretary of the Australian Department of Defence, (SECDEF), effective early September. Lewis was the first former military officer to be appointed to this position.

Diplomatic career
On 17 September 2012 it was announced that Lewis had been appointed Australia's ambassador to Belgium, the European Union, Luxembourg and NATO, and would leave the Department of Defence on 10 October. While newspaper reports suggested that Lewis was unhappy with the government's cuts to defence spending, he stated that "notwithstanding media reporting, I have not been forced out of my current position and I am not departing defence for any reason other than to take up this ambassadorial posting at the request of the prime minister".

Styles

 * Lieutenant Duncan Lewis
 * Captain Duncan Lewis
 * Major Duncan Lewis
 * Lieutenant Colonel Duncan Lewis
 * Colonel Duncan Lewis, CSC
 * Brigadier Duncan Lewis, DSC, CSC
 * 2002 – 2005: Major General Duncan Lewis, AO, DSC, CSC
 * 2006 – 2008: Major General Duncan Lewis, AO, DSC, CSC (Ret'd)
 * 2008 – 2011: Major General Duncan Lewis, AO, DSC, CSC, National Security Advisor to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
 * 2011 – 2012: Major General Duncan Lewis, AO, DSC, CSC, Secretary of the Department of Defence
 * 18 October 2012 – Present: His Excellency Major General Duncan Lewis, AO, DSC, CSC, Australian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, European Union and the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organisation