Ian Gordon (general)

Gordon was born in Perth, Western Australia, on 20 March 1952 to Glenice Pascoe and Ivor Gordon,[2] a decorated bomber pilot who flew with No. 455 Squadron RAAF in the Second World War.[3][4] Educated at Swanbourne High School, Gordon entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon as an officer cadet in 1970. He graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science in Military Studies, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Australian Corps of Signals.[2]

Gordon graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon,[5] in 1973 and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Corps of Signals.[1][5] He graduated from the Royal Military College of Science in Shrivenham, United Kingdom, in 1983,[1] and from the Australian Command and Staff College in 1985.[1]

By 1990, Gordon was posted to command the 1st Signals Regiment in Brisbane.[5] The following year, he was made commander of the Australian Service Contingent to the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).[5] For his command of the 1st Signals Regiment and work with MINURSO, Gordon was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1992.[5] In 1993, Gordon was named Director of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals.[5] He graduated from the Australian Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies in 1996 and,[1] in 1998, was appointed Commandant of the Australian Command and Staff College.[1] He was appointed Director-General Personnel – Army in 2000,[5] and Director-General, Future Land Warfare in 2001.[5] That September, he was promoted to major general and appointed Deputy Force Commander in the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).[6]

Gordon returned to Australia in 2002 and was appointed Commander, Training Command – Army.[6] He became Deputy Chief of Army in May 2004,[6] and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to the Australian Defence Force in senior command and staff appointments in January 2006.[6] In November the same year, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).[1]

Gordon is married to Ula and they have three children: Tom, Alison and Jenny. His hobbies include scuba diving, touch rugby, restoring cars, reading and bushwalking.[5] Since retiring from the Australian Army, Gordon has owned and managed a small publishing business, Barrallier Books, which has a focus on deluxe books and fine writing.