Former foreign minister Alexander Downer is considering an academic appointment following his retirement from Federal Parliament.
Academic sources in Adelaide have told The Canberra Times that the Flinders University of South Australia has offered Mr Downer a part-time post as professor in the University's School of Political and International Studies.
It is understood that the University of Adelaide has also offered a professorship to Mr Downer.
The Sunday Age reported yesterday that senior Liberal Party sources have confirmed that Mr Downer, who is in the United States until Wednesday for the annual Australian-American leadership dialogue, is preparing to make an announcement about his future soon after he returns from overseas.
Mr Downer has previously indicated that he is considering the possibility of a part-time appointment as United Nations Special Envoy to Cyprus.
Liberal and Labor sources in Adelaide have also confirmed that Mr Downer intends to take up a part-time role as a corporate adviser with the husband of the outgoing Democrats senator Natasha Stott Despoja, Ian Smith, and former Labor senator and immigration minister Nick Bolkus. Mr Smith is launching his new consulting company, Bespoke Approach, this week.
Mr Bolkus has in the past been a sharp critic of Mr Downer, on one occasion accusing the former foreign minister of ''a litany of deceit'' in relation to his handling of the 1999 East Timor crisis. Mr Downer once observed that ''Senator Bolkus is not one of the members of this Parliament who sets the highest of standards, and all members of this Parliament know that''.
Mr Bolkus has been a lobbyist for business groups, including the South Australian Jockey Club. He also chairs the South Australian Labor Party's fund-raising arm, SA Progressive Business Inc.
The offer to Mr Downer of a professorship at Flinders University has been orchestrated by deputy vice-chancellor and political scientist Professor Andrew Parkin.
Academic sources said that Mr Downer was not expected to make a big intellectual contribution to university life. ''I doubt he'll do more than a couple of lectures a year,'' one lecturer said.
Rather, it is thought Mr Downer's appointment to either Flinders or Adelaide University will bring prestige associated with his status as Australia's longest-serving foreign minister.
It is not clear which position Mr Downer favours, though the proximity of Adelaide University to the elite Adelaide Club may be a factor in his final decision.
Mr Downer's prospective departure from Federal Parliament would cause a by-election in the Adelaide Hills seat of Mayo which he holds by the fairly safe margin of 7 per cent.
Mr Downer's exit will be greeted with some relief within the federal Liberal Party as his frequent comments on international issues have tended to overshadow shadow foreign minister Andrew Robb who, despite long political experience, is a newcomer to foreign policy.
''It's time for Alexander to go, he's made a great contribution but he's not part of the future for us'', one Liberal backbencher said last week.
Email a friend