Doug Foskett joined the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1986 and served in various capacities in Canberra and on overseas posting. In Staffing and Personnel Section in Canberra, he was responsible for recruitment and overseas placements. In Canberra, he also served as Director of Consular Operations, and Director of Parliamentary Liaison. Overseas, he served in Mauritius, New Zealand, Fiji, Myanmar (Deputy Ambassador) and as Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh 2005-2009.

He was employed with Cairn Energy as its Company Representative in Aasiaat, Greenland, in 2010-2011, where he was principally responsible for community liaison.

In 2012, Doug was appointed Head of Office (Country Director) for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, where he served until his compulsory retirement in 2016.  In Laos, he was also a member of the UN Country Team.

Doug Foskett graduated in International Relations, Politics, and History from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, and has a Diploma in Education from the same university.

Currently Doug Foskett is working as a freelance business and political analyst.

Doug has a strong record as a strategic thinker and manager.  With high-level communication and advocacy skills and a keen awareness of cultural sensitivities, he has an excellent record in working with foreign governments and officials.  While strongly focused on results and outcomes, he maintains the highest ethical standards and instils the same in his colleagues.  The emphasis of IOM’s human trafficking programs in Laos reflected the importance he attaches to gender-based programs and the rights of minority groups.