Peter Stephen Wilenski, (10 May 1939 – 3 November 1994) was a senior Australian public servant and ambassador. He was a champion of women's rights and equal opportunity.

Early life

Peter Wilenski was born in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

on 10 May 1939. He came to Australia in 1943 as a Jewish refugee, due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

conflict and persecution of Jewish people in his home country. His family spent time in a Soviet internment camp before coming to Australia. For high school education, he attended

Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School (”SBHS”), otherwise known as The Sydney High School (“SHS”) or High, is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex school, single-sex Selective school (New South Wales), academically s ...

. He later studied at 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 ...

where he met his first wife, Gail Radford, when both were student politicians.

Career

Wilenski entered 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 Foreign Affairs Officer (1967–71). Wilenski's first

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 ...

role was in the

Department of Labor and Immigration The Department of Labor and Immigration was an Australian government department that existed between June 1974 and December 1975. History When the Department of Labor and Immigration was formed by the Whitlam Government in June 1974, ...

, appointed by the Whitlam Government in March 1975 fresh from a position as private secretary to Prime Minister

Gough 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 ...

. Just months after his appointment, the federal opposition were promising to sack Wilenski when they were back in power. During the 1970s Wilenski was working for the United States of America in what a historian has called "a discreet relationship". In March 1983 Wilenski was placed in his second Secretary role, this time as head of the

Department of Education and Youth Affairs The Department of Education and Youth Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between March 1983 and December 1984. History The Department was established by the Hawke Government in March 1983, a renaming of ...

. His tenure at the department was a short seven months. Wilenski was appointed Secretary of the

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and inv ...

in 1992, but retired from the position in 1993 due to ill health.

Awards

In 1994, Wilenski was named 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 ...

for service to international relations and to public sector reform, particularly through fostering the implementation of social justice and equity principles.

Death

Wilenski died on 3 November 1994 at his home in Sydney after battling lymphatic cancer for several years.

Early life

Career

Awards

Death

References

Further reading