Actress Cate Blanchett has been asked to head a government think-tank on culture in her native Australia.
The 38-year-old will chair a discussion group on the theme "Towards a Creative Australia" at the 2020 summit planned by prime minister Kevin Rudd in April.
Blanchett, who is due to have her third child that month, is the co-artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company.
Mr Rudd said she was one of many "creative individuals in their own right, with ideas to contribute".
The summit, to take place on 19 and 20 April, will bring together 1,000 businessmen, academics and politicians to discuss 10 areas critical to the nation's future.
Problems
Areas up for discussion include the economy, climate change and the problems facing rural communities.
Blanchett was in Los Angeles at the weekend for the Academy Awards ceremony, where she was nominated in two categories.
The mother-of-two previously won an Oscar for her role as Katharine Hepburn in 2004 film The Aviator.
She and her husband, screenwriter Andrew Upton, began their three-year tenure at the Sydney Theatre Company last month.
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