Duncan Lewis

Australian security intelligence director

Duncan Lewis
Image	Duncan Lewis
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Army officer; public servant; intelligence director; academic; corporate director
Known for	Director-General of Security, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation 2014 – September 2019 Director, Thales Australia; professor in the practice of national security, Australian National University
Education	British Army Staff College; United States Army War College
Predecessor	David Irvine

Duncan Lewis led the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) as director-general of security, from 2014 to 2019.

Office held

Duncan Lewis — intelligence leadership

Office	Start	End	Predecessor	Successor	Source
Director-General of Security, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation	2014	September 2019	David Irvine	Mike Burgess

Military and government career

Duncan Lewis commanded Special Operations Command Australia before retiring from the Australian Army as a major general. His senior civilian appointments included national security adviser, secretary of the Department of Defence and ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union and NATO.

ASIO leadership and succession

Duncan Lewis completed a five-year term at the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation before Mike Burgess was appointed to succeed him in 2019. The government’s appointment announcement credited Lewis with service in senior military, diplomatic and security posts, including command of Australian special forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Defence-industry recruitment

Thales Australia announced Duncan Lewis’s appointment to its board in February 2020, shortly after he left the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. Anthony Galloway reported that the company highlighted his experience in senior government positions. The appointment connected his intelligence, defence and diplomatic background with a major defence supplier; the report did not allege a breach of post-employment rules.

Additional public and advisory bodies

Duncan Lewis — other appointments recorded by the Australian National University

Organisation	Role and dates	Source
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission	Former board service.
Council for the Order of Australia; National Australia Day Council	Former membership and board service respectively.
National Security College	Member of the inaugural advisory board, before his later professorial appointment.

Later appointments

In June 2021 Duncan Lewis became professor in the practice of national security at the Australian National University’s National Security College. Its biography also records his non-executive directorship of Thales Australia, senior fellowship at the United States Studies Centre and chairmanship of Painaustralia.