Nerida King

Nerida King has over 20 years’ experience in policy, security, and intelligence roles in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Her service has included postings to the USA, China, and the Solomon Islands.

Most recently, Nerida was Deputy Chief Congressional at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC, where she led congressional engagement on cross-portfolio China issues and on AUKUS, including the passage of AUKUS enabling legislation in December 2023.

Prior to this, Nerida held various senior policy advisor roles in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including Director of Regional Maritime Security and Director of Security Policy, Culture and Threat. In these roles, Nerida provided high-level policy advice to the Australian Government on Australia’s relations with the US, China, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific; great power contestation; and priority issues for the Indo-Pacific, with a focus on maritime security and grey zone tactics.

Nerida has a Masters of International Relations from Sydney University and attended the Australian Defence Force Academy.