Sir Peter James Lawler (23 March 1921 – 1 April 2017) was an Australian senior public servant and diplomat. He served in senior roles under Prime Ministers

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

McEwen The Scottish surname MacEwen derives from the Old Gaelic ''Mac Eoghainn'', meaning 'the son of Eoghann'. The name is found today in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. Because it was widely used before its spelling was standardised, the modern n ...

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hi ...

McMahon McMahon, also spelled MacMahon (older Irish orthography: ; reformed Irish orthography: ), is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac'' ''Mathghamhna'' meaning 'son of the bear'. The surname came into use around the 11th c ...

Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ele ...

and Hawke, and ended his career as Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See.

Career

Peter Lawler was born on 23 March 1921. He was educated at St Joseph's College Hunters Hill,

St Stanislaus College St Stanislaus College (often called Tullabeg College) was a Jesuit boys boarding school, novitiate and philosophy school, in Tullabeg, Rahan, County Offaly. St Carthage founded a monastery of 800 monks there in 595 before founding his monaste ...

, Bathurst, and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, graduating in economics. He joined the Department of Postwar Reconstruction in 1944, then the Prime Minister's Department in 1950. In 1951, along with Kenneth Herde, he was seconded to the UK Cabinet Office in London to do research on the workings of government, with a view to bringing back ideas that could be applied within the Australian context. He remained there until 1953, and also undertook postgraduate training in several European cities. Lawler's and Herde's recommendations led to

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

' decision to establish a Cabinet Office in Canberra as a separate and discrete part of the Prime Minister's Department. He became a Deputy Secretary of the Prime Minister's Department in 1964. He wrote the 1966 Cabinet decision that led to the abolition of the

White Australia policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting i ...

. In October 1967, as Acting Secretary, he was involved in the VIP aircraft affair that threatened the premiership of Menzies' successor

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...

, but used his experience and shrewdness to protect himself and escape the odium that was visited on Sir John Bunting. In 1968, Prime Minister

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...

made the Cabinet Office a department in its own right (generally believed to be his way of sidelining Sir John Bunting), and Lawler joined it as Deputy Secretary to Bunting, remaining there until March 1971 when the new prime minister

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, t ...

merged it with the Prime Minister's Department to create the new Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. From 1972 to 1975 Peter Lawler was Secretary of the Department of the Special Minister of State, serving the Whitlam government, then Secretary of the Department of Administrative Services from 1975 to 1983, serving the Fraser government. After Sir

Robert Mark Sir Robert Mark (13 March 1917 – 30 September 2010) was a senior British police officer who served as Chief Constable of Leicester City Police, and later as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1972 to 1977. Mark was the first Metro ...

's report on the organisation of protective services in the wake of the February 1978 Sydney Hilton bombing, the Fraser government set up a small taskforce, headed by Peter Lawler, to implement the recommended creation of the

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...

. In March 1983 the incoming Hawke government appointed Lawler Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland and Ambassador to the Holy See, serving until his retirement in 1986. He was resident in Ireland, except for four months prior to

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's visit to Australia. Lawler lobbied to have the post of Ambassador to the Holy See permanently resident in Rome, but this did not occur until

Tim Fischer Timothy Andrew Fischer (3 May 1946 – 22 August 2019) was an Australian politician and diplomat who served as leader of the National Party from 1990 to 1999. He was Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government from 1996 to 1999. Fischer ...

's appointment in 2008. He was a Member of the Council of the

Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences The Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences is a multi-disciplinary learned society founded in 1967 modelled on the British Academy of Forensic Sciences. The Academy conducts regular conferences, undertakes liaison with other Australian professi ...

for many years. Lawler died on 1 April 2017, aged 96, survived by his seven surviving children from two marriages, and their offspring.

Personal life

Lawler was a Catholic with open

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

affiliations. He became a patron of the

Australian Family Association The Australian Family Association (AFA) is a conservative Christian political organisation. It was founded in 1980 by the National Civic Council's then president, B. A. Santamaria. Beliefs and lobbying The AFA states they were formed to "provide ...

in 2008. He and his wife were named Australian Family of the Year by the Association. He was also a Cooperator of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei. He married Mary Thornton in 1944. She gave him six children, but both mother and son Gerard died at his birth in 1957. In 1958, he married Mary Robinson, and two more children followed. Lawler's family home was destroyed in the

2003 Canberra bushfires The 2003 Canberra bushfires caused severe damage to the suburbs and outer areas of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, during 18–22 January 2003. Almost 70% of the Australian Capital Territory's (ACT) pastures, pine plantations, and nat ...

Honours

Lawler was appointed an Officer 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 ...

(OBE) in the 1965 New Year's Honours. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the 1981 Queen's Birthday Honours. In 1986 he received the papal honour of Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Pius IX , image = , caption = Knight's cross of the Order of Pius IX , awarded_by = , type = Papal order of knighthood , established = 1847 , motto = ''VIRTUTI ET MERITO''(Virtue and Merit) , day ...

. He was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

on 1 January 2001.It’s an Honour: Centenary Medal
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawler, Peter 1921 births 2017 deaths Australian public servants Ambassadors of Australia to Ireland Ambassadors of Australia to the Holy See University of Sydney alumni Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Roman Catholics Knights of the Order of Pope Pius IX 20th-century Australian public servants