Louis John Wienholt (1918–1973) was a senior Australian public servant, including as

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 Social Security The Department of Social Security (DSS) was a governmental agency in the United Kingdom from 1988 to 2001. The old abbreviation is still often used informally. Advertisements for rented accommodation used to describe prospective tenants who wou ...

in 1973.

Life and career

Wienholt was born in 1918. He was a Queenslander who went into practice with his wife, Hilda Wienholt in Red Hill, Queensland. Hilda died suddenly on 14 September 1944; the couple had a child aged just 11 months at the time of Hilda's death. The doctors who performed Hilda's autopsy were unable to determine the cause of her death. Wienholt began his

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 ...

career in 1950. He was promoted to Senior Medical Officer, grade 2, third division in 1957. Between 1968 and 1973 he was a Deputy Director-General at the Department of Health. In January 1973 he was appointed Director-General of the

. During his time as head of social security, Wienholt organized for his desk clerks to attend two-week courses in the slums of Melbourne and Sydney to "sensitise" them to the problems of departmental clients. Wienholt retired due to ill health early into his term at the Department of Social Security, he had suffered a heart attack in April 1973. He died later that year.

References

1918 births 1973 deaths Australian public servants {{Australia-gov-bio-stub