Peter Graham Faithfull Henderson, (1 October 1928 – 25 September 2016) was an Australian senior public servant. He was

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 ...

of the Department of Foreign Affairs between 1979 and 1984. He was also well known for being the son-in-law of Robert Menzies.

Early life and marriage

Henderson was born in October 1928. He was educated at

Geelong Grammar School , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"( 1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ...

, Victoria, and Merton College, Oxford (1947-1950). In May 1955, Henderson married Heather Menzies, daughter of Robert Menzies, the Australian

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. They had their first child, a daughter, in March 1956, in Jakarta.

Career and later life

Henderson began his career in the Australian Public Service in the

Department of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

in 1951. He was appointed Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1979. During his time at the department he introduced rules to prevent couples being posted together, which was interpreted by those it affected as a "pincer movement" against career equality for female diplomats. At the end of his public service career in September 1984, Henderson was offered the choice of a demotion or retirement—he chose to retire, and denounced the Australian Government for using the diplomatic service as a "depository... for people they want to get rid of in Canberra". Henderson died in Canberra on 25 September 2016.

Awards

In January 1985, Henderson was made a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in recognition of distinguished public service.

Notes

References and further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Peter 1928 births 2016 deaths Ambassadors of Australia to the Philippines Australian public servants Companions of the Order of Australia Alumni of Merton College, Oxford