Greg Sheridan

Gregory Paul "Greg" Sheridan AO (born 1956) is an Australian foreign affairs journalist and commentator. He has been the foreign editor of The Australian newspaper since 1992.

Greg Sheridan
BornGregory Paul Sheridan
22 November 1956
Inner-West Sydney
OccupationJournalist
NationalityAustralian
SpouseJessie
Website
Greg Sheridan - Author at The Australian

Early life

Sheridan grew up in Sydney, attending Macquarie University and the University of Sydney but did not graduate.[1] At university, he was a close personal friend of Tony Abbott;[2][3] the two attended the Australian Union of Students annual conference in Melbourne together, in 1977.[4] Sheridan also wrote some influential articles on the sciences academic conflict at Macquarie University.[5]

Career

Sheridan first worked at The Bulletin magazine in 1979. His reporting on the Vietnamese boat people, after the end of the Vietnam War, sparked a lifelong interest in Asian politics.

Sheridan joined The Australian in 1984.[6] He worked in Beijing, Washington, and Canberra before becoming foreign editor in 1992. Writing on and from the Asian region since the 1980's, he specialises in Asian politics, and has written four books on the topic, and a book on Australia–U.S. relationships. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne.

Commentary

Sheridan has been a staunch supporter of closer ties between Australia and its Southeast Asian neighbours, particularly Singapore and Indonesia. In his book Hidden Agendas, journalist John Pilger accused him of being a "reliable ally" of the Suharto dictatorship while serving as the foreign editor of The Australian.[7] In particular, Pilger derided Sheridan's defence of Indonesia following the Clinton administration's critique of Suharto's human rights records, as well as the Australian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee following its confirmation of the Santa Cruz Massacre. Sheridan stated that "even genuine victims frequently concoct stories".[8]

He was a vocal critic of Prime Minister John Howard's intervention in East Timor in 1999, and during 2006 called for the removal of Mari Alkatiri as Prime Minister of that country.[9]

Sheridan has been a supporter of the Australian government's anti-terror legislation and argued the deportation from Australia of American environmental activist Scott Parkin was well founded.[10] He has also argued in support of the notion that George W. Bush will be judged "one of the great presidents of the United States".[11]

In reference to the 2011 Egyptian protests, Sheridan wrote that "What is happening in Egypt and across Arab North Africa more generally represents a distinct new phase in the existential crisis of Arab civilisation".[12]

Personal life

Sheridan is originally from Sydney and moved to Melbourne in 2006. He is married to Jasbir Kaur "Jessie" Sheridan; the couple have three sons.[13] Sheridan was given an Officer of the Order of Australia Honour in 2016, with the citation, "For distinguished service to print media as a journalist and political commentator on foreign affairs and national security, and to Australia's bilateral relationships".[14]

References
  1. Sheridan, G. (2015). When We Were Young & Foolish. Sydney: Allen & Unwin; ISBN 9781760113391, page 199.
  2. Massola, James (30 January 2015). "Tony Abbott considered appointing The Australian's Greg Sheridan to plum posting". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015.
  3. Fullerton, Ticky, INTERVIEW- A politic apprenticeship: Greg Sheridan, archived from the original on 6 March 2016
  4. Sheridan, Greg (25 July 2015). "Tony Abbott, Greg Sheridan and the 1977 AUS conference: a political baptism of fire". The Australian. News Corp Australia. Edited extract from When We Were Young and Foolish
  5. G. Sheridan, Australian physicist wins Guthrie Medal, The Bulletin 101(5239), 49-50 (1980).
  6. Craven, Peter (1 August 2015). "Greg Sheridan's memoir recalls Abbott, Carr early days". The Australian. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  7. Pilger, John (1998). Hidden Agendas. Vintage. ISBN 9780099741510. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  8. In praise of Soeharto the despot, The Sun-Herald, February 13, 2005
  9. East Timor is no failed state, Crikey, June 5, 2006
  10. Sheridan, G., and Kerin, J. "Deported activist was to teach tactics of violence", The Australian, 22 September 2005.
  11. Sheridan, Greg (14 September 2006). "A great president for these terrible times". The Australian. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  12. Sheridan, Greg (3 March 2011). "Arab awakening or dawn of dark age". The Australian. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  13. Sheridan, Greg (1999). Asian Values, Western Dreams: Understanding the New Asia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
  14. "SHERIDAN, Gregory Paul". PMC. Retrieved 17 August 2018.

Bibliography
  • (editor and co-author) Living with Dragons: Australia Confronts Its Asian Destiny (Allen & Unwin, 1995; ISBN 1-86373-880-0)
  • Tigers: Leaders of the New Asia-Pacific (Allen & Unwin, 1997; ISBN 1-86448-153-6)
  • Asian Values, Western Dreams: Understanding the New Asia (Allen & Unwin, 1999; ISBN 1-86448-496-9)
  • Cities of the Hot Zone: A Southeast Asian Adventure (Allen & Unwin, 2003; ISBN 1-74114-224-5)
  • The Partnership: The Inside Story of the US-Australian Alliance Under Howard and Bush (UNSW Press, 2006; ISBN 0-86840-922-7)
  • When We Were Young & Foolish: A Memoir of My Misguided Youth with Tony Abbott, Bob Carr, Malcolm Turnbull, Kevin Rudd & Other Reprobates (Allen & Unwin, 2015; ISBN 9-78176-0113-391)
  • God Is Good for You: A Defence of Christianity in Troubled Times (Allen & Unwin, 2018; ISBN 9-78176-0632-601)
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