Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has appointed Kim Williams to replace Ita Buttrose as chairman of the ABC.
Mr Williams – a former AFL commissioner and former head of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp Australia and Foxtel Empires – was appointed the new head of the public broadcaster on Wednesday morning.
Mr Albanese said: “Kim fits the role so perfectly, it’s almost like he was made for it.
“He is as at home running media companies as he is running arts organizations and is a former AFL commissioner, so he also dabbles in sport.
“I can’t think of many Australians who have both studied composition in Italy and been an AFL commissioner.
‘Kim is a real renaissance man.’
Mr Albanese said he had consulted Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on the decision.
Mr Williams has been married twice: first to Kathy Lette, the famous Australian author, and later to Gough Whitlam’s daughter, Catherine Dovey, a friend of Mrs Lette, and his current wife.