By the time Alexander Downer left office, he had eclipsed ?Doc? Evatt and Dick Casey to become Australia?s longest-serving Foreign Affairs Minister. Over nearly twelve years on the world stage, he negotiated with presidents, prime ministers, and powerbrokers to advance and defend Australia?s interests. It was a modern odyssey through wars, upheavals, and shifting alliances, as Downer sought to balance the ambitions of the United States and China while forging stronger ties with Indonesia. Few were better placed to interpret the forces shaping Australia?s place in a turbulent new century.
