Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Australian Institute of International Affairs was formed in the 1920s as an affiliate of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. It became a federal body in 1933, with Archibald Charteris serving as its first National President from 1933 to 1934.
The AIIA's current mission is for Australians to know more, understand more, and engage more in international affairs. Its constitution prohibits it from endorsing or propagating any point of view on international affairs, making it constitutionally apolitical.
The National Office of the AIIA is located at Stephen House in Deakin, Canberra, a building constructed specifically for the institute in 1987. The Victoria Branch operates from Dyason House in Melbourne, and the New South Wales Branch is located at the Glover Cottages in Sydney.
The AIIA publishes the Australian Journal of International Affairs, originally founded in 1947 under the name Australian Outlook. Until the 1960s it was unrivalled as a forum for analysis and debate in the fields of foreign and security policy in Australia.
The current National President is Heather Smith, who succeeded Allan Gyngell in 2023. Gyngell, born in 1947, had previously served as executive director of the Australian Office of National Assessments before his death in 2023.
The AIIA traces its origins to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Participants at that conference believed public opinion was vital to the development of foreign policy, which prompted the creation of several international affairs organisations, including the Royal Institute of International Affairs in the UK, whose Australian affiliate became the AIIA.