Bruce Haigh

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Bruce Haigh (6 August 1945 – 7 April 2023) was an Australian diplomat and political commentator. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1972 and served in Pakistan and South Africa, where he was Second Secretary from 1976 to 1979. Born in Sydney and raised in Perth, he studied at the University of Western Australia and served in the Australian Army during the Vietnam War. In South Africa he helped establish contact between the Australian Embassy and anti-apartheid activists, meeting figures such as Steve Biko and Mamphela Ramphele. He assisted Donald Woods in escaping to exile in England; his role was depicted in the film Cry Freedom. Haigh was married twice, Libby Mosley and Jodie Burnstein, and had four children (one son predeceased him). He identified as an independent in politics and died of cancer in Wollongong, New South Wales, on 7 April 2023, aged 77.