Bernard William Fraser (born 26 February 1941) is an Australian economist and was the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. T ...

from September 1989 to September 1996. Fraser was born in

Junee, New South Wales Junee () is a medium-sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in par ...

in 1941. He joined the

Commonwealth 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 Go ...

in 1961, starting at the Department of National Development. Educated at the University of New England and the Australian National University, Bernie Fraser joined the Commonwealth Public Service in 1961, spending time in Treasury, interspersed with postings in London as a Treasury representative, three years in the Department of Finance and three years as Director of the National Energy Office. He soon moved to the Department of Treasury, in 1963. He was its London representative from 1969 to 1972. In 1981 Fraser was appointed Director of the National Energy Office. He returned to the Treasury in 1984 and became

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 ...

from September 1984 to September 1989. Fraser is an independent director of several

industry superannuation An industry superannuation fund (or, simply, 'industry fund') is an Australian superannuation fund originally established to provide for the retirement of workers from a specific industry. While industry funds are no longer tied to specific in ...

funds and is a director of

Members Equity Bank ME Bank, also known as ME, is an Australian direct bank based in Melbourne. ME Bank no longer has branches in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Canberra and Darwin. It became a subsidiary of Bank of Queensland in July 2021. Found ...

. He is the chairman of the board of the

Climate Change Authority The Climate Change Authority (CCA) is an Australian Government statutory agency responsible for providing independent advice to government on climate change policy. It was established by and operates under the ''Climate Change Authority Act 201 ...

. He has appeared in several television ads in Australia for superannuation funds, notably sporting the catchphrase; "it's the super of the future". He was educated at

Junee Junee () is a medium-sized town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town's prosperity and mixed services economy is based on a combination of agriculture, rail transport, light industry and government services, and in par ...

High School, the

University of New England, Australia The University of New England (UNE) is a public university in Australia with approximately 22,500 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern central New South Wales. UNE was the first ...

and the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. He has received Honorary Doctorates from the University of New England, Australia and

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Napier Sturt, a British explorer w ...

, Australia. He is also an honorary Professor of Economics at the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...

References

Australian economists Living people 1941 births Secretaries of the Department of the Treasury of Australia Governors of the Reserve Bank of Australia {{Economist-stub