After much speculation, Mr Downer formally announced his resignation last Thursday.

Mr Downer plans to establish with Ian Smith and Nick Bolkus, a business consultancy called Bespoke Approach; accepting a number of board positions and taking up a part time role at a university.

Meanwhile, Mr Downer has acknowledged that he has been approached to take up a role as a United Nations Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Cyprus.

“I have told the United Nations that if this role is confirmed I will accept the position,” Mr Downer said.

Among his proudest moments, he says, was the role he played in the Howard government's $10 billion Murray Darling initiative.

“This initiative although, being implemented much more slowly than I would have liked, has the potential to transform completely the Murray Darling environment which, for the people of Mayo, is the most important single issue they now face,” he said.

Mr Downer paid tribute to the people of Mayo for giving him the opportunity to serve as Foreign Minister for 12 years.

“Amongst my proudest achievements are the Bougainville peace process, Australia's response to the Asian economic crisis, our role in East Timor, Australia's response to the war on terror in South East Asia as well as in Afghanistan and Iraq, the support for South East Asia following the 2004 tsunami and the restructuring of Australia's South Pacific policies, in particular, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands,” he said.

NEXT WEEK: Read more about Mr Downer’s time as the Member for Mayo in our special profile in Fleurieu Life.