Martin Hardie

Martin Hardie has had a global career spanning law, academia, journalism, and cultural advocacy. Born in Australia, he holds a Law Degree with Honours (Northern Territory University) and a PhD in Legal Anthropology (Deakin University). He has lived and worked in Australia, the UK, Timor-Leste, Panama, Mozambique, and Spain, blending legal practice with social impact. As a lawyer, Hardie pioneered the Aboriginal copyright cases in the 1980s–90s and served in landmark cases like the Timor Gap and the NT Euthanasia disputes. He has advised Timor-Leste’s resistance and political leaders from 1992 until the present time. Academically, he’s taught law and society at universities worldwide, including Deakin, NTU, Florida State, UNPAZ and UNDIL.Beyond law, Hardie has managed bands (e.g., The Laughing Clowns and Warumpi Band), ran Aboriginal art centres, and has written for El País and cycling magazines. His book, Governing the Society of Competition examines law and sovereignty in neoliberalism through the lens on pro-cycling’s war on doping. Now based in Aileu, Timor-Leste, he is currently the Principal Research Officer for President José Ramos-Horta and runs with his family Dili Vanilli and Posada Txiriboga, merging his interdisciplinary expertise to shape law, culture, and development.