Bill Pritchett
AO
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
Died28 January 2014(2014-01-28) (aged 92)
NationalityAustralia Australian
SpouseElvira "De" Voorstad
ChildrenIsabel and Henry
Alma materUniversity of Sydney (BA)
OccupationPublic 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

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

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

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

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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
  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
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