Geoff Raby is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n economist and diplomat. He served as the Australian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 from February 2007 until August 2011.

Education and public career

Raby attended La Trobe University

La Trobe University

La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...

 and graduated with Bachelor's degree (Honours), a Masters degree and a PhD in economics. He worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a department of the government of Australia charged with advancing the interests of Australia and its citizens internationally...

 in several positions as head of the Chinese Embassy's economics division (1986–1991), head of the Northeast Asia Analytical Unit (1991–1993), First Assistant Secretary, Trade Negotiations Division (1995–1998), Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation (1998–2001) and First Assistant Secretary, International Organisations and Legal Division (2001–2002), Ambassador to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...

 forum (2002–2004), and Deputy Secretary of the Department (2002–2006). While based in Beijing from 1986 to 1991, he worked with Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd

Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...

, who served as Australia's Prime Minister and later Minister for Foreign Affairs while Raby was Ambassador to China.

He published a book concerning Australian economic history in 1996 entitled Making rural Australia: an economic history of technical and institutional creativity, 1788-1860.

Career in the private sector

After retiring as Ambassador to China, Raby was appointed as the Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

-based Executive Director of Riverstone Advisory Pty Ltd, an adviser to law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Corrs Chambers Westgarth is an Australian commercial law firm. It was founded in 1841.-History:Corrs Chambers Westgarth traces its history back to 1841 with the founding of the firm's first office in Melbourne. Corrs has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth...

 and Co-Chair of the firm’s China practice, and a Vice-Chancellor's Professorial Fellow at Monash University

Monash University

Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....

. He is also a non-executive director of Fortescue Metals Group

Fortescue Metals Group

Fortescue Metals Group is an Australian iron ore mining company. The company has holdings of more than 87,000 km² in the Pilbara region of Western Australia making it the largest tenement holder in the state. It is listed as FMG on the Australian Securities Exchange .In 2008, the group loaded...

, OceanaGold

OceanaGold

OceanaGold Corporation OceanaGold is a significant Asia Pacific gold producer, with a portfolio of operating, development and exploration assets. Assets are located on the South Island of New Zealand and in northern Philippines...

, and SmartTrans Holdings Ltd. He founded a consulting firm Geoff Raby & Associates in Beijing, and retained the Queensland Investment Corporation as a client.