Mark Watson is a Senior Fellow.

Prior to this, Mark was the inaugural Director of the ASPI Washington DC office.

Following a period in legal practice with Moray & Agnew in Sydney, Mark took a position in the International Law Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade.  His career as a diplomat and national security official included postings in Port Moresby, Hong Kong, Singapore, London and, most recently, at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC.  

Within the national security community Mark served on a range of senior interdepartmental committees, including Operation SOVEREIGN BORDERS and, in his most recent role, counter-terrorism coordination and oversight committees.

A trained Chinese linguist, Mark holds degrees in law and history from the University of Sydney, an Honours degree in strategic studies from Deakin University, as well as a Masters degree in Public Policy from UNE. 

Mark also completed post-graduate studies in the Economic and Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China at the University of Hong Kong, and is a graduate of the Senior Executives Leadership Program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

Mark is a regular contributor on national security and US policy issues on the Afternoon Agenda program on Sky News, and is a national security contributor to the Australian newspaper.