William Cole (public servant)

William Cole
Sir; William Cole
Secretary of the Department of Defence
	In office; 6 February 1984 – 15 October 1986
Preceded by	Bill Pritchett
Succeeded by	Alan Woods
Secretary of the Department of Finance
	In office; 7 December 1976 – 2 November 1978
Preceded by	New department
Succeeded by	Ian Castles
Personal details
Born	Robert William Cole; 16 September 1926; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died	8 January 2019 (aged 92); Perth, Western Australia
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	University of Melbourne[1]
Occupation	Public servant

Sir Robert William Cole (16 September 1926 – 8 January 2019)[2][3] was a senior Australian public servant. He held secretary-level positions in four departments or agencies during the Fraser Government and Hawke Government years.

Biography

Cole was born in 1926.[4][5] He began his public-service career at the age of 15 as a telegraph messenger. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II, and after the war's end completed a commerce degree at the University of Melbourne.[6]

After graduating, Cole briefly worked in the Department of Supply, and then in 1952 moved to Canberra to work as a research officer in the Department of the Treasury. He was seconded to the International Monetary Fund in 1957 and worked in Washington, D.C., until 1959, when he returned to the Treasury. He was director of the Bureau of Transport Economics from 1970 to 1972, and then took on various senior roles:[6]

first Assistant Secretary to the Treasury (1972–76)
Australian Statistician (1976)
Secretary of the Department of Finance (1976–78)
Chairman of the Public Service Board (1978–83) and
Secretary of the Department of Defence (1984–87).[7]

Cole was knighted in the 1981 New Year Honours.[8][9]

References

CP 635: Roger Sir Robert William COLE KT, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 28 March 2014
Who's Who in Australia
"William Cole". WestAnnouncements.com.au.
National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia
"Sir Robert William Cole - 1926 to 2019". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 11 January 2019.
Parliament of Australia: Departmental Machinery of Government Since 1987
Search Australian Honours: COLE, Robert William, Australian Government, archived from the original on 28 March 2014
"State Intelligence" (PDF). The London Gazette. 12 May 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2012.

Government offices
Preceded by Jack O'Neill	Australian Statistician 1976	Succeeded by Roy Cameron
New title Department established	Secretary of the Department of Finance 1976–1978	Succeeded by Ian Castles
Preceded by Mick Shann	Chairman of the Public Service Board 1978–1983	Succeeded by Peter Wilenski
Preceded by Bill Pritchett	Secretary of the Department of Defence 1984–1986	Succeeded by Alan Woods

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[NAA_CP_635-1] CP 635: Roger Sir Robert William COLE KT, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 28 March 2014

[2] Who's Who in Australia

[3] "William Cole". WestAnnouncements.com.au.

[4] National Library of Australia

[5] National Library of Australia

[dpmc-6] "Sir Robert William Cole - 1926 to 2019". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 11 January 2019.

[7] Parliament of Australia: Departmental Machinery of Government Since 1987

[8] Search Australian Honours: COLE, Robert William, Australian Government, archived from the original on 28 March 2014

[9] "State Intelligence" (PDF). The London Gazette. 12 May 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2012.