About Susan Harris Rimmer
Susan is an expert in women’s rights and international law. She was involved with the creation of the position of the Global Ambassador for Women and Girls; and supported the creation of the W20 summit in Turkey, and the C20 in Australia (civil society grouping giving policy advice to the G20). She was Australia’s representative to the W20 in Turkey 2015, China 2016 and Germany 2017.
Sue is from Coonabarabran, NSW. She is married to Professor Matthew Rimmer at QUT and mother to Marina and Joshua, and a failed guide dog, May the labrador.
The W20 Panel with Chancellor Merkel can be viewed here: https://www.bundeskanzlerin.de/Content/EN/Artikel/2017/04_en/2017-04-20-w20-dialogforum_en.html
Employment History: Professor Susan Harris Rimmer was appointed as the Director of the Policy Innovation Hub at Griffith University in June 2020.
She joined Griffith as an Associate Professor in the Law School in July 2015, and then was Deputy Dean (Research). She was awarded an Australian Research Council Future Fellow for her project Are We Trading Women’s Rights in Transitions? to examine the role of gender in diplomatic negotiations 2014-2019 ($653,993).
Sue was the Director of Studies at the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University from 2012 to 2015. She is also a Research Associate at the Development Policy Centre in the Crawford School. Sue is an Associate Fellow at UK think-tank Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) since December 2015.
Sue held the position of Manager of Advocacy and Development Practice at the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the peak body for Australian development non-governmental organisations. She has also worked for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the National Council of Churches and the research service of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library.
Education
Secondary Education
- 1984 ‑1990 Trinity Catholic College, Lismore, NSW. Humanities Dux.
Tertiary Education
- Doctor of Juridical Science award conferred December 2008, Australian National University, 2002 – 2008.
- 1991‑1997 University of Queensland BA(Hons)/LLB(Hons) ‑ includes a year of cross‑institutional enrolment at Australian National University 1996
- Awarded University Medal for 1995. Awarded Lizzie Heal‑Warry Prize 1991, the George Essex Evans Scholarship 1995, and the Ruthning Memorial Scholarship 1997
Awards and Appointments
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Named one of 100 global gender experts by Apolitical 2018
Named as one of the Queensland Voices Female Leaders 2019
Winner of the 2006 Audre Rapoport Prize for Scholarship on the Human Rights of Women held by the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at The University of Texas School of Law.- Selected as participant in the 2020 Summit 2008, and awarded the Future Summit Leadership Award, 2008 and Vincent Fairfax Ethics in Leadership Award 2002
- Selected for Harvard Law School Institute for Global Law and Policy Workshop, Doha Qatar, 3-11 January 2014 and Harvard IGLP Conference, June 2015, winner of Harvard-Satander grant.
- Selected as an expert for the official Australian delegation to the 58th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in NY in March 2014, with the delegation headed by Minister Michaelia Cash and Ambassador for Women and Girls, Natasha Stott-Despoja.
- Selected as participant in the Think20 process for Australia’s host year of the Group of 20 Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane 2014. Susan was the G20 correspondent for The Conversation site in St Petersburg.
- Nominated by Australian Government as Australian representative to the W20 Summit in Turkey, China and Germany.
- Visiting Fellow, International Gender Studies Programme, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, UK 2016
- Visiting Fellow, Programme on Gender and Global Change, Institut De Hautes Études Internationales Et Du Développement (Graduate Institute Of International And Development Studies), Geneva, Switzerland, 2016.
- Named one of 100 global gender experts by Apolitical 2018
Professional Qualifications
- Admitted to the Queensland Supreme Court as a solicitor, March 2000.
- Member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law
Community organisations
- International Womens Development Agency Board, 2014 to present.
- Appointed the national board of the Refugee Council of Australia in October 2013 and an Australian Refugee Trust Ambassador, 2013-2017
- Elected to UN Women Australia Board, October 2008 – 2011 (previously UNIFEM)
- President of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, elected February 2008 – 2010, National Committee member 2013-2014, Women’s committee 2017-present
- Australian Red Cross ACT International Humanitarian Law Committee 2001-2009
Selected publications
- Harris Rimmer, S & Kate Ogg (eds) Research Handbook on Feminist Engagement with International Law. Edward Elgar. (in press, 2018.)
- Harris-Rimmer, S Gender and Transitional Justice: The women of East Timor, Routledge 2010.
- Harris Rimmer, S & Thompson, S. 2018. Special Issue: Women and National Security. Security Challenges Journal, 14(2).
- Harris-Rimmer, S & Charlesworth, H (eds), 2010, Special Issue: Feminist Internationalisms, The Australian Feminist Law Journal, vol. 36.
- Harris Rimmer, S. (ed) (with Caitlyn Byrne and Melissa Conley-Tyler) Australian Journal of International Affairs Vol 70 special issue 2016: Australian Diplomacy Today.
- Harris Rimmer, S. 2016. ‘Barriers to operationalising the Women Peace and Security doctrine in UN Peacekeeping operations’. Journal of International Peacekeeping 20 (2016): 49-68
- Harris Rimmer, S. 2104. ‘The Big Stage: Australian women leading social change in international fora’ in Women and Leadership in a Century of Australian Democracy, eds Joy Damousi, Kim Rubenstein & Mary Tomsic, ANU E-Press (ARC Linkage grant)
- Full publications listing, including opinion pieces is available from
- https://experts.griffith.edu.au/academic/s.harrisrimmer