Sir Alan Sydenham Cooley, (17 September 1920 – 13 April 1997) was a senior

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

official and policymaker.

Life and career

Alan Cooley was born in 1920. He began his Commonwealth Public Service career in the

Department of Supply The Department of Supply was an Australian government department that existed between March 1950 and June 1974. History Established in 1950, the Department of Supply headquarters transferred to Canberra in January 1968. In 1964 the D ...

, rising up the ranks to become

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

of that department in 1966. He transferred the department headquarters to Canberra in January 1968. Between 1971 and 1977, Cooley was Chairman of the Public Service Board. In 1977, he was appointed to be Secretary of the new

Department of Productivity The Department of Productivity was an Australian government department with the mission to providing increased industrial productivity. The department existed between November 1976 and November 1980, operating under the Fraser govern ...

Awards

Cooley was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in January 1972. He was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in June 1976. In 2011, a street in the

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

suburb of Casey was named Cooley Crescent in Alan Cooley's honour.

References

1920 births 1997 deaths Australian public servants Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian Knights Bachelor {{Australia-gov-bio-stub