Robert Broughton Lansdown (9 May 1921 – 6 May 2006) was a senior Australian public servant and policymaker.

Life and career

Bob Lansdown was born on 9 May 1921 in East Maitland. At the age of 14, he first joined the

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 ...

, as a post office bicycle messenger in Strathfield. During World War II, Lansdown joined the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

, serving in the Middle East and New Guinea. Lansdown first rejoined the Australian Public Service in 1950 as a Private Secretary in the

Prime Minister's Department A cabinet department or prime minister's department is a department or other government agency that directly supports the work of the government's central executive office, usually the cabinet and/or prime minister, rather than specific ministe ...

. In December 1972 Lansdown was appointed

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 the

Department of Urban and Regional Development The Department of Urban and Regional Development was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and December 1975. History The Department was one of several new Departments established by the Whitlam Gove ...

and he remained head of the department when it was transitioned to

Department of Environment, Housing and Community Development The Department of Environment, Housing and Community Development was an Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary consti ...

. Between July 1979 and November 1980, Lansdown served as Secretary of the

Postal and Telecommunications Department The Postal and Telecommunications Department was an Australian Government department, established in 1975 to take over the residual functions of the Postmaster-General's Department after its postal and telecommunications functions were split int ...

. He was the inaugural head of the Department of Communications when the Postal and Communications Department was abolished. In 1986, Lansdown retired from the public service.

Awards and honours

Lansdown was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for housing, environment and community development in 1977. In 1991 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to communications. In 2009, 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 Lansdown Crescent in Bob Lansdown's honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lansdown, Bob Australian public servants 1921 births 2006 deaths University of Sydney alumni Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian public servants Australian Army personnel of World War II