Bill Pritchett

Australian public servant

Bill Pritchett

Secretary of the Department of Defence
In office
16 August 1979 – 6 February 1984
Personal details
Born|

William Beal Pritchett

(1921-01-31)31 January 1921
Sydney
Died| 28 January 2014(2014-01-28) (aged 92)
Nationality| Australian
Spouse| Elvira "De" Voorstad
Children| Isabel and Henry
Alma mater| University of Sydney (BA)
Occupation| Public servant

William Beal Pritchett AO (31 January 1921 – 28 January 2014) was a senior Australian public servant. He was Secretary of the Department of Defence between 1979 and 1984.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Bill Pritchett was born on 31 January 1921.[1] He attended the Sydney Church of England Grammar School.[1] Pritchett studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree at Sydney University, studying in history and anthropology.[2]

## Career

[edit]

Pritchett served in World War II and then before joining the Commonwealth Public Service in 1945 as a Cadet in the Department of External Affairs.[1] His first overseas post was to Indonesia, during the country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands.[1]

In 1965, Pritchett was appointed Australia High Commissioner to newly independent Singapore.[3] In 1973, Pritchett was recruited to the Defence Department by his former boss in External Affairs, Arthur Tange.[4]

From 1978 to 1979, Pritchett was the Deputy Secretary for Strategy and Intelligence. He was later appointed Secretary of the Defence Department when Tange retired in 1979.[1][5] During his time as departmental head, Pritchett worked to improve the departmental culture.[6][7]

Pritchett retired from the public service in 1984.[1][8]

## Awards and honours

[edit]

In January 1984 Pritchett was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his public service.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Furlonger, Bob (8 February 2014). "William Pritchett: From diplomat to head of Defence Department". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 15 February 2014.
2. ^ Barratt, Paul (28 January 2014), "Vale Bill Prichett 1921–2014", Australian Observer, archived from the original on 6 February 2014
3. ^ "Our man for new State". The Canberra Times. ACT. 14 August 1965. p. 4.
4. ^ Furlonger, Bob (7 February 2014). "William Pritchett: From diplomacy to the Defence Department". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 15 February 2014.
5. ^ CA 46: Department of Defence [III], Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 16 February 2014[permanent dead link]
6. ^ "Vale W.D. Pritchett, 1921-2014", Letter to the Canberra Times (not published), Australia Defence Association, 7 February 2014, archived from the original on 15 February 2014
7. ^ Dobell, Graeme (6 February 2014), "To think and to do in Defence", The Strategist: The Australian Strategic Policy Institute Blog, The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, archived from the original on 14 February 2014
8. ^ Waterford, Jack (2 February 2014). "A gentleman in an unforgiving world". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 6 February 2014.
9. ^ Search Australian Honours: PRITCHETT, William Beal, Australian Government

Diplomatic posts

Preceded by

Walter Crocker

as High Commissioner  |  Australian High Commissioner to India
(Acting)
1962–1963  | Succeeded by

James Plimsoll

as High Commissioner
Preceded by

Tom Critchley

as High Commissioner to Malaysia  |  Australian High Commissioner to Singapore
1965–1967  | Succeeded by

Alfred Parsons

Government offices
Preceded by

Arthur Tange

|  Secretary of the Department of Defence
1979–1984  | Succeeded by

William Cole

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

People|

* Trove