Andrew Whist
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Andrew Whist was a Norwegian migrant to Australia who became the international tobacco industry's main strategist and master lobbyist through his association with Hamish Maxwell, R. William Murray, and Geoffrey C. Bible both in Australia, and later in New York.
His original name was Ulf Whist, but he Australianized it on arriving in Melbourne to Andrew J (the J had no name attached): the name of 'Whist' in Norway was then closely associated with Alf Whist the facist Quisling Minister without a Portfolio.
He worked as a salesman for Hush Puppy shoes for a while before joining Philip Morris Australia as a Brand Manager in the 1966, and he was quickly elevated to Corporate Affairs [1].
He appears to have had high-status connections from the outset since he was admitted as a member to some of the country's most exclusive business clubs. Hamish Maxwell who was later to head the international conglomerate, visited Australia in June 1968 and was most impressed by his originality and aggressive promotion of cigarettes, and the fact that he would engage in any devious means possible to further the industry's interests. [2] He was quick to realise the importance of having compliant scientists conduct media tours where they would dispute Health Department contentions that smoking was harmful to both the smoker and the nearby non-smoker. [3]
Whist organised the visit of Scandanavian Drs Frieberg and Cederlof, who had conducted studies on identical twins (one of whom they claimed did not smoke) and also notable academics like Pathologist, Prof John P. Wyatt.[4] Mostly these academics were compensated for their time by luxury trips to the southern hemisphere during the northern winter, and by special grants for further research [5]. Philip Morris also involved itself in grants to the NSW Labor government on the understanding that they would not to make moves against smoking. [6] [7]
New York as industry strategist
In January 1981 Whist was transferred to New York to work directly under the two top Australian executives Bill Murray and Geoffrey Bible who were the rising stars in the Philip Morris international conglomerate behind Hamish Maxwell.[8] Two other prominent tobacco PR/lobbyists, John Dollisson and Philip Francis (Philip Morris) both followed him to create an all-Australian strategy team, which with the top US lobbyists, Craig Fuller and Stephen Parrish, came to dominate international strategy for the tobacco industry as a whole. [9]
Whist was involved in hundreds of projects and scam operations over the subsequent years, but some of the more noteable were Libertad Inc. which was a forum devoted to the promotion of Commercial Free Speech. It was actually a vehicle for protecting the right for cigarette companies to advertise their products. [10] [11] [12]
He ran Libertad along with two other member-less tobacco-industry front organisations, the New York Society for International Affairs (NYS aka NYSIA) and the USA chapter of the American-European Community Association (AECA-US). AECA, had its European operation under the control of the Rothmans executive founder in London, Sir David Nicholson, and Lord Plumb or Coleshill (MEP and European Union president -- owner of a Belgium lobby firm) was the nominal Chairman of Libertad. [13].
These organisations were mainly used by Philip Morris to sponsors carefully controlled scientific conventions and conferences, and as a way of providing junkets for journalists and politicians. [14]
The Master Settlement Agreement struck between the Clinton Administration and 46 state Attorneys General and the major tobacco companies forced the release of 14 million primary company records, and so the revelation of many of these secrets necessitated Andrew Whist needing to leave the USA fairly abruptly. His immediate superior Geoff Bible arranged with an old friend David Hoare who was the chairman of Australia's old telephone monopoly Telstra (aka Telecom Australia) for an executive exchange. [15]
Telstra was in the process of privatisation by the sale of three tranches, and the Conservative government led by Prime Minister John Howard had made a public policy that the third tranche (T3) would remain in public ownership. Telstra needed an exceptional public lobbyist to lead the move to full privatisation.
Whist retired shortly after to his investment beef stud property in the North West corner of Victoria.
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- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/pyhd0114
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/yncf0131
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/pqmd0048
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/gfkx0037
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/xzcj0012
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/xndf0119
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/zsyy0042
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/jylb0002
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/mnhp0219
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/lphp0219
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/jxkh0111
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/mnfl0218
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/pnph0029
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/qfdn0073
- ↑ https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/zkxb0077
