Geoffrey Blainey AC

Professor Geoffrey Blainey has a long and distinguished career in academic circles. For twenty years he was a professor of economic history and then Ernest Scott Professor of History at the University of Melbourne. He also held the chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University. In 1988 in New York he received the International Britannica Award for excellence in the dissemination of knowledge for the benefit of humankind.
A member of various federal government committees, Geoffrey Blainey was Chairman of the Australia Council for four years and Chairman of the Australia-China Council for five years and in 2001 was chairman for the National Council for the Centenary of Federation.
In the early 1980's he was Visiting Professor of Australian Studies at Harvard University. In 1988 he received the International Britannica Award for excellence in the dissemination of knowledge for the benefit of humankind. He is the author of many books, including The "Tyranny of Distance" and "The Causes of War". His mist recent title, " A Short History of the World" was released in October 2000, and has been reprinted 10 times.
His first book was published when he was in his early twenties and since then he has written another 30. His book, The Tyranny of Distance, now in its 21st edition, has given Australia one of its most widely quoted phrases. His recent book, ‘A Short History of The World’ has won a wide circle of readers all over the world and in 2001 he gave the annual Boyer Lectures on the ABC. He has written weekly columns for a variety of daily newspapers. His televised history of Australia, The Blainey View, was shown in ten episodes on ABC television.
Geoffrey Blainey has been the chairman of many institutions including the Australia Council, the University of Ballarat, the Australia – China Council, and the Commonwealth Literary Fund. He is at present on the council of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and a variety of other civic bodies. He was the chairman of the National Council for the Centenary of Federation, which organised the nationwide celebrations marking, in 2001, the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Commonwealth. At the United Nations in 1998, - along with the celebrated economist Professor JK Galbraith – he was awarded a gold medal for “excellence in the dissemination of knowledge for the benefit of mankind.” In the year 2000 he was made Companion of the Order of Australia.
Professor Blainey is a witty speaker with a warm, approachable manner which delights his audiences. His presentations draw on economic events and their effects on the future and he has been a keynote speaker at conferences in dozens of cities in Australia and overseas.

Speaker Topics Include:

Australia's Greatest Business Disasters
Global Warming: An Historians View
The Last Half Century - What Lessons Should we Take Home
The Myths and Facts About Global Warming
Will China or the USA be Dominant in Forty Years Time?