Admiral Chris Barrie is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy who served as Chief of the Defence Force from 1998 to 2002.

Barrie entered the Royal Australian Naval College in 1961, and served in HMA Ships Anzac, Vampire and Melbourne, which included the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation and service in Vietnam. He was then posted to the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth and HMS Excellent, and completed Sub-Lieutenant’s courses. He was part of the commissioning crew of HMAS Brisbane and served a seven-month tour of duty in Vietnam, in 1969. Following this, he was appointed Commanding Officer of HMAS Buccaneer, Operations and Navigating Officer of HMS Eastbourne, HMAS Perth and HMAS Duchess, Executive Officer on HMAS Vampire, and Commanding Officer of HMAS Stuart.

In 1990, Barrie spent a year in India as Defence Adviser. He then went onto serve as Director of the RAN Surface Warfare School and commanding officer of HMAS Watson; Deputy Maritime Commander and Chief of Staff at Maritime Headquarters in Sydney; Deputy Chief of Naval Staff; and Vice Chief of the Defence Force. He was appointed to the position of Admiral in 1998 and held this post until his retirement in 2002.

Barrie studied part-time for a Bachelor of Arts degree, which he completed in 1983, with a special focus on International Relations and Politics, and was awarded a Master of Business Administration degree in 1996 by Deakin University. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.

He has received many awards for his service, including Singapore’s Distinguished Service Order (Military). He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1994, an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1998 and became a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2001.