Christine Mackay

Christine Mackay is the Australian Office of National Intelligence (ONI)’s deputy liaison officer in Washington, DC. She was previously ONI’s senior analyst for Iraq, Syria, Turkey and North Africa, writing all-source assessments for the prime minister and National Security Committee of Cabinet. She covered strategic trends, such as the outlook for Iraq and Syria, and focused on the threats posed by ISIL insurgences, prisons and IDP camps in Northeast Syria and AQ-linked groups. From 2009-2018, Christine held several positions at Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including in the Indo-Pacific Strategy Division and Counter-terrorism Branch. She was second secretary at the Australian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, from 2013-2017, where she reported extensively on the PKK threat and spillover effects from the Syrian conflict. Christine holds a Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Asian Studies from the Australian National University, majoring in international relations and Mandarin. She is fluent in Turkish.