Andrew Liveris in charge of Brisbane Olympic Games

Australian business leader and one-time US presidential adviser Andrew Liveris has been put in charge of delivering the Brisbane Olympics.

Australian business leader and one-time US presidential adviser Andrew Liveris has been put in charge of delivering the Brisbane Olympics in one of the last ­appointments signed off by Scott Morrison before calling the federal election.

The announcement on Sunday went down to the wire of the government entering caretaker mode after a standoff between the Prime Minister and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk over the make-up of the organising committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Mr Liveris’s appointment as OCOG president was welcomed by Australian Olympic Committee boss John Coates, who lauded the heft the former Dow Chemical chief would bring to the job.

“He adds tremendous value and international credibility,” Mr Coates said.

Mr Morrison and Ms Palas­zczuk also jointly named as ­independent OCOG directors Wesfarmers chief executive and 1996 Olympics rowing silver medallist Rob Scott, academic Sarah Kelly, who holds deputy chair positions at Events Queensland and Brisbane Lions AFL club, ePharmacy founder and Queensland Rugby Union chairman Brett Clark, and former ­Reconciliation Australia co-chair and KPMG ­director Shelley Reys.

The positions were key pieces of the jigsaw to slot in for planning of the Games to begin in earnest, amid increasing concern the process had been bogged down by bickering between the state Labor government and Canberra.

Unlike Sydney 2000, which was largely a NSW government project, the cost of the Brisbane Olympics will be shared, but Ms Palaszczuk was accused of dragging her feet on naming her nominees to the organising committee for two months after Mr Morrison announced his picks last December.

The Premier, who will also sit on the board as an OCOG vice-president, said on Sunday the ­ line-up reflected a “breadth and depth” of experience.

“This will be the biggest single transformational event in a generation,” she said.

Striking a conciliatory note, Mr Morrison said the federal and state governments had worked closely to bring on to OCOG “some of this country’s most successful leaders”.

“These Games aren’t just an opportunity for our next generation of sporting talent, they’re an opportunity to further unlock the potential of Queensland and spread the benefits,” he said.

Mr Liveris, 67, has divided his time between Sydney and the US since retiring from Dow Chemical, a $47bn multinational operating in 160 countries.

Despite him being personally close to Democrat president Bill Clinton, Donald Trump asked him to head a Manufacturing Council of CEOs and corporate heavyweights to guide his Republican administration’s business policy.

Mr Liveris soon quit with other members of the council after Mr Trump was seen to ­appease white supremacists involved in a deadly protest clash in the US city of Charlottesville in 2017.

Having studied at the University of Queensland – to which he donated $13.5m on stepping down at Dow in 2018 – Mr Liveris said Brisbane held a “special place” in his heart.

“I am honoured to have been asked to make an important contribution to our state and nation in this critical role,” he said.

The OCOG board is still not locked in. Mr Morrison’s picks of federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck as a vice-president and Olympics envoy and Liberal MP Ted O’Brien as director will likely be rescinded if Labor wins next month’s election.

The 21-strong board also numbers as vice-presidents Mr Coates, Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner and Paralympics Australia president Jock O’Callaghan.