The Australian Institute of International Affairs is saddened to hear of the passing of one of its Fellows, Bruce Grant. From 1954, Grant worked as the Age’s foreign correspondent in London, where he reported on the Suez Crisis. As a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1958, Grant spent time in the United States. He would return to the United States a decade later to open the Age’s foreign bureau in Washington DC. A prolific writer, Grant maintained a column for the Age

A prolific writer, Grant maintained a column for the Age, and wrote opinion pieces until his death in his 80s. He wrote numerous books on international affairs, publishing a major volume on Indonesia and co-authoring a book on Australian foreign relations with Gareth Evans. His talents extended to non-fiction, and he wrote novels, short stories, poetry, and essays, often focusing on politics and life outside Australia. His work appeared in such varied pulications as  Walkabout, The New Yorker, Mademoiselle, Playboy, Cleo, The Port Phillip Gazette, The Bulletin, Quadrant, Overland and Meanjin. 

The Whitlam Government appointed Grant as its high commissioner to India and ambassador to Nepal and Bhutan, where he was a keen advocate for Australia’s engagement in Asia. He was a fierce opponent of the Vietnam War and of the White Australia Policy. He would later advise Evans during the latter’s tenure as foreign minister. He assisted in the founding of Monash University’s school of government in the 1990s. He received an honorary doctorate from Monash in 2003 and was made a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs in 2010.