Gareth Evans named a Top 100 Global Thinker

The Hon Gareth Evans AO QC from the University of Melbourne’s School of Social and Political Sciences has been named as one of Foreign Policy magazine’s Top Global Thinkers of 2011.

The annual list, which is judged by a group of prominent international peers, recognises 100 individuals who have shaped the global conversation and world’s best ideas over the past 12 months.

Dean of Arts, Professor Mark Considine said "the award was a public acknowledgment of something the students in our Master of International Relations program have known for some time - Professor Gareth Evans is one of the most thoughtful and strategic thinkers in the field and brings a deep knowledge of contemporary challenges to bear on his teaching and research.

"Never imprisoned by established assumptions and well-worn theories, he pushes his students to think about solutions to the most intractable international problems and is never satisfied to allow injustice, violence and exploitation to remain unchecked."?
Professor Evans was named on the 2011 list for making the ’responsibility to protect’ more than an academic concept. According to Foreign Policy, Professor Evans has helped take the concept from "airy theory held by a small cadre of human rights advocates to a guiding principle of the world’s strongest military alliance".

Professor Evans and the other 2011 global thinkers will be honoured at a reception in Washington DC, as well as being profiled in Foreign Policy’s third annual Global Thinkers issue. Past winners include Barack Obama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Kofi Annan, Joseph Stiglitz, Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright. ?
Professor Evans spent 21 years in Australian politics, 13 of them as a Cabinet Minister. As Australia’s Foreign Minister he was internationally renowned for his roles in developing the UN peace plan for Cambodia, concluding the Chemical Weapons Convention, and initiating new Asia Pacific regional economic and security architecture.

In addition to his role at the University of Melbourne, Professor Evans is a Chancellor at ANU, President Emeritus of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, an independent global conflict prevention and resolution organisation which he led from 2000 to 2009.

Foreign Policy’s full list of 2011 Top Global Thinkers and Professor Evans’ citation is available online at http://www.foreignpolicy....