# Luke Lazarus Arnold

Luke Lazarus Arnold is a diplomat and the Australian High Commissioner to Brunei since January 2022. A specialist on Southeast Asia and public sector governance, Arnold has previously served as Australia’s Deputy Ambassador to Cambodia, First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Consultant at the United Nations Office in Indonesia and various roles in Canberra, Australia.

## Education

In 2007-08, Arnold completed a Master of Law, Development and Governance at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London on a Commonwealth Scholarship from the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Melbourne, graduating third in his cohort for the latter.
Arnold also holds a graduate certificate in Legal Practice and Ethics from Monash University. Arnold studied philosophy and law at Universitas Gadjah Mada for six months in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2000 and Chinese law at the East China University of Political Science and Law in 2001.

## Early life

In 1995 at the age of 14, Arnold traveled to Yogyakarta and Ubud as part of a study tour while still in high school, having studied Bahasa Indonesia in Melbourne. He saved for the trip by selling pies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He advocates for stronger ties between Southeast Asia and Australia, leveraging his diverse cultural experiences to dispel preconceptions and foster mutual understanding.
While on a university exchange in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2000, Arnold worked a volunteer for the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation in Indonesia. He worked on a range of human rights cases, including with Munir Said Thalib, who was later assassinated. He later worked with the International Labour Organization to support Indonesia’s implementation of international labour standards, following the Reformasi period and ratification of international labour conventions by Indonesian President Gus Dur.
In 2008, after a brief stint as corporate lawyer with Minter Ellison, Arnold joined AusAID, Australia's overseas development agency, which has now been merged into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
He first met his wife, Leliana Setiono at a function in Melbourne while Leliana was an Australia Awards Scholarship recipient attending the University of Melbourne.

## Diplomatic career

Arnold’s first diplomatic posting was as First Secretary in Jakarta, where he managed Australia’s governance cooperation with Indonesia, including on anti-corruption, judicial reform, elections, civil society and human rights.
Arnold later served as the Australian Embassy's Deputy Ambassador in Phnom Penh, which included overseeing Australia’s entire development cooperation program in Cambodia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Arnold and his team worked with Cambodian, German and United Nations officials to introduce an emergency cash transfer program that could provide the basis for a social security system for Cambodian households.
He held positions at Minter Ellison Lawyers and the United Nations before entering the Australian Public Service. On 7 November 2017, he led Australia’s delegation to and delivered a speech at the 7th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
Arnold took over as Australia's High Commissioner to Brunei in January 2022, replacing Tiffany McDonald, who had served in that capacity since 2020. At Istana Nurul Iman on 24 May, newly appointed foreign envoys to Brunei, including Arnold, presented their letter of credence to Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. He was met by David Hurley and Linda Hurley on 19 June 2023, while they received the Sultan of Brunei in Canberra. On the same visit, the Sultan of Brunei and Australian Prime Minister Albanese upgraded bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Partnership.
Arnold hosted Foreign Minister Penny Wong on an official visit to Brunei in October 2022, and on 31 August 2023 he introduced the Sultan to General Angus John Campbell in Brunei.

## Personal life

Arnold and his wife have two sons.