William Beal Pritchett (31 January 1921 – 28 January 2014) was a senior Australian 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 w ...

of the

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

between 1979 and 1984.

Early life and education

Bill Pritchett was born on 31 January 1921. He attended the

Sydney Church of England Grammar School , motto_translation = , established = , type = Independent single-sex and co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school , grades = Early learning ...

. Pritchett studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree at

Sydney University 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 six ...

, studying in history and anthropology.

Career

Pritchett served in World War II and then before joining 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 G ...

in 1945 as a Cadet 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 ...

. His first overseas post was to Indonesia, during the country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands. In 1965, Pritchett was appointed Australia High Commissioner to newly independent Singapore. In 1973, Pritchett was recruited to the Defence Department by his former boss in External Affairs,

Arthur Tange Sir Arthur Harold Tange (18 August 1914 – 10 May 2001) was a prominent Australian senior public servant of the middle to late 20th century. A considerable intellect, he was one of the most influential people in the government of Australia f ...

. From 1978 to 1979, Pritchett was the Deputy Secretary for Strategy and Intelligence. He was later appointed

of the Defence Department when Tange retired in 1979. During his time as departmental head, Pritchett worked to improve the departmental culture. Pritchett retired from the public service in 1984.

Awards and honours

In January 1984 Pritchett was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his public service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pritchett, Bill 1921 births 2014 deaths High Commissioners of Australia to India Ambassadors of Australia to Nepal High Commissioners of Australia to Singapore Officers of the Order of Australia University of Sydney alumni Secretaries of the Australian Department of Defence Australian expatriates in Indonesia