Dr Nicholas Chantler PhD AM
Major - Australian Army Intelligence Corps (Ret'd)
Born in England 1950, to a Russian mother and English father, Nicholas went to boarding school in North Wales; and, then an agricultural apprenticeship at The Cheshire College of Agriculture. Taught to fly by instructors from RAF Shawbury in 1970, he came to Australia in 1973 with his first wife; the vicar’s daughter.
Nicholas studied a B.Sc at The University of Queensland, followed by a Diploma in Teaching. In 1981 he joined the Australian Army as a Direct Entry Officer, initially as a physics and scuba diving instructor. He then transferred to Signals, before joining the Intelligence Corps.
A career that spanned over 25 years as a Counter-Intelligence Officer, he travelled the world with short stays in many countries, often assisting allied intelligence.
He is technically competent in Engineering, IT Systems and Telecommunications; and, actively involved in various facets of Amateur Radio.
In 1988 he was promoted to Major. In 1996 he was awarded a doctorate on the psychology of computer hackers, information warfare and cyberwar. He is also qualified in psychology as a clinical hypnotherapist; and, has been involved in various research projects.
In 2001 he spent nearly three years in Kosovo working with the United Nations as the Head of IT for the interim government; and, then as the Head of IT in the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance, for the European Union. This also included many liaison trips into neighbouring countries.
Some of his time in the Army was concurrent as an academic, in the field of Intelligence & Security at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). He also developed a formal link between Defence Intelligence and QUT.
His experience is not limited to the Military. He also worked within the global corporate and government environments, dealing with situations that were politically sensitive, requiring tact and diplomacy.
At the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2010, he was made a Member of The Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of his career. He officially retired in 2015 and now lives in Tasmania (with his best wife ever!).