Incorrigible Optimist A Political Memoir

A colourful and central figure in Australian politics for two decades—described by Bob Hawke as having 'the most acute mind' of any of his ministers—Gareth Evans has also been applauded worldwide for his contributions, both as Foreign Minister and in later international roles, to conflict resolution, genocide prevention and curbing weapons of mass destruction.

In this sometimes moving, often entertaining, and always lucid memoir Evans looks back over the highs and lows of his public life as a student activist, civil libertarian, law reformer, industry minister, international policymaker, educator and politician. He explains why it is that, despite multiple disappointments, he continues to believe that a safer, saner and more decent world is achievable, and why, for all its frustrations, politics remains an indispensable profession not only for megalomaniacs but idealists.

Gareth Evans, now Chancellor of the Australian National University, was a member of the Australian Parliament for 21 years, and a cabinet minister throughout the Hawke-Keating era. From 1988 to 1996 he served as Foreign Minister. He led the Brussels-based International Crisis Group from 2000 to 2009 and has won many prizes and awards for his contributions to international policymaking. He has written or edited, solely or jointly, twelve books, including Australia's Constitution: Time for Change (1983), Australia's Foreign Relations (1995), The Responsibility to Protect: Ending Mass Atrocity Crimes Once and For All (2008), and Inside the Hawke-Keating Government: A Cabinet Diary (2014).