Participant Biographies

William Paterson

William Paterson

Ambassador, Embassy of Australia to the ROK
Session 2 - "Asia-Pacific or Indo-Pacific?"

H.E. William Paterson is currently the Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (ROK) with non-resident accreditation to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Mongolia. Amb. Paterson has held senior positions in the Australian Government with responsibility for counter-terrorism, international strategic and security policy, politico-military affairs, intelligence, and regional issues. Before taking up his appointment in the ROK, he was Australian Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism and Head of International Security in Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). He was earlier Australian Ambassador to Thailand (2004-08), and led Australia’s disaster response to the 2004 Asian tsunami. Prior to that, he was Head of the Southeast Asia Division in DFAT. Following the events of September 11, 2001, Ambassador Paterson was appointed Head of the Australian Government’s Anti-Terrorism Task Force. He subsequently became Head of the government’s Iraq Task Force (2002-03). Ambassador Paterson received his B.A. from the University of Melbourne.