Rate My Professor Chris Barrie

Admiral (Ret'd) Chris Barrie AC is Honorary Professor at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University. He retired in 2002 after 42 years of service in the Royal Australian Navy, including four years as Chief of the Defence Force from 1998 to 2002. A graduate of Britannia Royal Naval College, he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree through part-time study with a focus on international relations and strategic studies.

At ANU, Barrie has served as Chair of the London Foundation, Commissioner for the Kioloa Coastal Campus, and Director in the Tuckwell Foundation. He teaches on strategic leadership issues at the university campus and the Australian Command and Staff College, facilitates induction courses for new Australian Public Service entrants into the Department of Defence, co-facilitates executive education courses on risk for the National Security College, and conducts an annual 15-day scenario game for the Department of Pacific Affairs. His research specializations include strategic leadership, defence transformation, military operations, and the security implications of climate change, including the costs of inaction and its human, domestic, and international dimensions. He authored the Climate Council report "Climate change puts the Australian Defence Force under pressure" in 2015 and co-chaired a conference on climate change and security with Professor Will Steffen. Barrie is a founding and executive member of the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group since 2021, Australian member of the Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change, and an early member of the ANU Climate Change Institute's expert advisory panel since 2008. He chairs PTSD Australia New Zealand and its FearLess Outreach program, serves as Patron of the Australian Council of Security Professionals, and is President of the Australian Crime Prevention Council. His honors include Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD), Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management (FAIM), and Fellow of the Australian Risk Policy Institute (FARPI).