Don Aitkin, historian and political scientist, was the Foundation Chair of the Australian Research Council, a member of the Australian Science and Technology Council, and a member and later chair of the Multi-disciplinary Assessment Committee of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, as well as a consultant to other Canadian research organisations. He is a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra, and his books include What Was It All For? The Reshaping of Australia (2005).