Mr Peter Heyward
Ambassador to East Timor
Biography
Mr Heyward was Australia’s Ambassador to Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela from July 2005. Other overseas service has included serving as Counsellor, Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva (2000-02) and as First Secretary, later Counsellor, in Buenos Aires (1993-96). In Canberra, Mr Heyward has held a range of positions including Assistant Secretary, Environment Branch in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2002-04), Director, Human Rights and Indigenous Issues Section (1998-2000) and Director, Refugees, Immigration and Asylum Section (1996‑98). He has also worked in the Climate Change and Biodiversity Section (1991-92) and the Antarctic Section (1989-91).
Mr Heyward was born in Brighton, UK in 1955, he holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tasmania and speaks Portuguese and Spanish. Mr Heyward is married and has two adult children.