Woolcott was educated at Geelong Grammar School, Cranbrook School and the University of Melbourne, before becoming a member of the Australian Diplomatic Service. Woolcott's first posting in the diplomatic service was as Third Secretary in the Australian Embassy Moscow. Woolcott married Danish-born Birgit Christensen in London, England in July 1952 and the couple moved to Moscow shortly after the wedding. During the posting which lasted until 1954, Joseph Stalin died in March 1953.
Later career
In 1967, Woolcott drafted a speech for Prime Minister Harold Holt that said Australia was geographically part of Asia and that it was "a basic tenet of our national policyto live in friendship and understanding with our Asian neighbours". Between 1967 and 1970, Woolcott was Australian High Commissioner to Ghana. In the role, he regularly visited Ouagadougou, Nouakchott, Dakar, Libreville, Monrovia, Abidjan, Lomé, Conakry and Bamako. From 1975 to 1978 he was Australia's Ambassador to Indonesia, at the time of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. In a series of oft-cited and highly influential cables throughout his ambassadorship, he urged his country to take a 'pragmatic' or 'Kissingerian' approach to the Indonesian incorporation of East Timor, largely due to the importance of the Suharto regime to Australia's strategic and foreign policy goals and its relations with ASEAN and the region, although also informed by the under-sea oil resources that Australia was claiming close to Timor. Subsequently, Woolcott was appointed Australia's Ambassador to the Philippines. US cables leaked by Wikileaks reveal that Woolcott had been an informant to the US, providing consular officials with information of internal government processes during 1974. He was the Australian Ambassador to the United Nations from 1982 to 1988, and served as the President of the United Nations Security Council for Australia's term in November 1985. Woolcott also served as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the most senior diplomatic position in Australia, from 1988 to 1992. As DFAT Secretary, he was involved in the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. On 4 June 2008, Australian Prime MinisterKevin Rudd announced that Woolcott had been appointed as an envoy to conduct discussions to form a new Asian regional forum. Since 1997, Woolcott has been the Founding Director of the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre. In 2003 Woolcott wrote a personal memoir entitled The Hot Seat: Reflections on Diplomacy from Stalin’s Death to the Bali Bombings, and he also wrote a book called Undiplomatic Activities in 2007.
Personal life
Richard Woolcott is a supporter of the Australian Republican Movement, and gave the Inaugural National Republican Lecture in 2003. Woolcott's wife of 56-years, Birgit, died from lung cancer in 2008. The couple's son, Peter, is also a diplomat and has served as the ambassador to Italy.
Awards and honours
For his services to diplomacy and international relations, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1985, and advanced to a Companion of the Order in 1993. In July 2008, Richard Woolcott was selected as one of the inaugural fellows of the Australian Institute of International Affairs to highlight his very high level of distinction in and distinguished contribution to Australia's international affairs. Also that year, Woolcott was awarded the Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop Asia Medal, in recognition of his contribution to Australia's relationships with Asia.
