A look at Alexander Downer, the Australian diplomat whose tip set off the FBI’s Russia probe 

The Australian diplomat whose tip ignited the FBI’s probe into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 election has had an illustrious political career at home.

Alexander Downer, Australia’s top diplomat in Britain, is most notably known for posing with fishnet stockings and wearing a leopard print stiletto for a charity promotion in 1996.

But the former foreign affairs minister recently made headlines after a New York Times report revealed ex-Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos boasted to Downer about the Russians having dirt on Hillary Clinton during a drunken night out in London in May 2016.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is now handling the investigation. Papadopoulos eventually pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating in the case. Here’s a look at Downer’s career.

Papadopoulos claims of Russia's Clinton dirt prompted FBI probe

The Iraq War

Downer was a strong supporter of the Iraq War and also backed the U.S. after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. He called on Australia to act alongside its ally during the war.

“I cannot in conscience ignore the record of Saddam Hussein is a ruthless tyrant who tries still — in the face of concerted international pressure — to retain and develop the most evil of weapons,” Downer said in a speech to Parliament.

“As the Foreign Minister of our great country, I will not be remembered for turning my back on such evil and allowing the specter of Saddam to haunt future generations,” he added.

Downer’s sense of humor

He joked that his Liberal party’s domestic violence policy should be “the things that batter” instead of “the things that matter.” The joke evidently cost him a chance at being prime minister in the 1990s.

Trump says Russia investigation makes the U.S. 'look very bad'

Downer once called Australia’s foreign affairs secretary Richard Woolcott, who was critical of Australia’s involvement in the Iraq War, a “loser” at Melbourne’s airport.

“Yelling above the heads of the other travelers, Downer called out to the back of Woolcott's head, ‘Loser!’ he told me later,” reporter Peter Hartcher wrote of the encounter. “Then I ducked down quickly in case he turned around and saw me.’ In recounting the story, Downer seemed to think it a very funny thing to do.”

East Timor spying allegations

After his exit from politics, Downer served as a United Nations envoy to Cyprus to restore peace in the country.

East Timor’s government alleged that Australia had spied on the Asian country in 2004 while negotiating over oil and gas. Downer called the claim “opportunistic.”