Fergus Hanson is the Director of Polling and Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute. He has a Masters in International Law from the University of Sydney and his published thesis focused on regional stability in the Pacific.

Fergus worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) from 2004 to 2007. From 2005 to 2007 he served at the Australian Embassy in The Hague where he was responsible for Australia’s relations with five international legal organisations and domestic political issues.

Prior to joining DFAT he was a fellow at Cambridge University’s Lauterpacht Research Centre for International Law. Fergus has also studied at Uppsala University.

Fergus was a visiting Vasey Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Pacific Forum from November 2010 to January 2011. He was awarded a 2011 Professional Fulbright scholarship to pursue further research on e-diplomacy and the use of opinion polling by foreign ministries at Georgetown University.