Peter Wilenski
AC
Wilenski in 1975
Secretary of the Department of Labor and Immigration
In office
31 March 1975 – 22 December 1975
Secretary of the Department of Education and Youth Affairs
In office
25 March 1983 – 1 November 1983
Secretary of the Department of Transport and Communications
In office
24 Jul 1987 – 30 September 1988
Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
In office
15 February 1992 – 14 May 1993
Personal details
Born
Peter Stephen Wilenski

10 May 1939
Łódź, Poland
Died3 November 1994(1994-11-03) (aged 55)
Sydney, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Spouse(s)Gail Radford
Jill Hager
ChildrenMichael and Katie
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
University of Oxford
OccupationPublic servant

Peter Stephen Wilenski, AC (10 May 1939 – 3 November 1994) was a senior Australian public servant and ambassador. He was a champion of women's rights and equal opportunity.

Early life

Peter Wilenski was born in Łódź, Poland on 10 May 1939.[1][2] He came to Australia in 1943 as a Jewish refugee, due to World War II conflict and persecution of Jewish people in his home country.[3] His family spent time in a Soviet internment camp before coming to Australia.[4] For high school education, he attended Sydney Boys High School.[4] He later studied at the University of Sydney where he met his first wife, Gail Radford, when both were student politicians.[5]

Career

Wilenski entered the Australian Public Service as a Foreign Affairs Officer (1967–71).[1]

Wilenski's first Secretary role was in the Department of Labor and Immigration, appointed by the Whitlam government in March 1975 fresh from a position as private secretary to Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.[6] Just months after his appointment, the federal opposition were promising to sack Wilenski when they were back in power.[7] During the 1970s Wilenski was working for the United States of America in what a historian has called "a discreet relationship".[8]

In March 1983 Wilenski was placed in his second Secretary role, this time as head of the Department of Education and Youth Affairs. His tenure at the department was seven months.[9]

Wilenski was appointed Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1992, but retired from the position in 1993 due to ill health.[4][10]

Awards

In 1994, Wilenski was named a Companion of the Order of Australia for service to international relations and to public sector reform, particularly through fostering the implementation of social justice and equity principles.

Death

Wilenski died on 3 November 1994 at his home in Sydney after battling lymphatic cancer for several years.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 CP 451: Dr Peter Stephen WILENSKI AC, AO, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 22 January 2014
  2. ↑ "Peter Wilenski; Former Ambassador, 55". The New York Times. 14 November 1994. Archived from the original on 22 January 2014.
  3. ↑ Evans, Gareth (22 June 1995). THE WORLD AFTER WILENSKI: AN AUSTRALIAN WHO MATTERED (Speech). Inaugural Peter Wilenski Memorial Lecture. Canberra. Archived from the original on 10 June 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 Rosemary Follett and Kate Carnell (8 November 1994). "Hansard" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Australian Capital Territory. pp. 3767–3770. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2013.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ↑ Radford, Gail (7 March 2013). My life in Canberra (PDF) (Speech). Canberra Museum and Gallery. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2014.
  6. ↑ CA 1769: Department of Labor and Immigration, Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 23 January 2014
  7. ↑ "Opposition pledges to sack Wilenskis". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 September 1975. p. 2.
  8. ↑ Coventry, C. J., "The Eloquence of Robert J Hawke: United States informer, 1973-79," Australian Journal of Politics and History, 67:1 (2021), 69.
  9. ↑ CA 3494: Department of Education and Youth Affairs, Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 23 January 2014
  10. ↑ Keating, Paul (14 May 1993). "Dr Peter Wilenski, AO" (Press release). Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "Peter Wilenski, former envoy from Australia", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: 18, 14 November 1994

Further reading

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