References and external links
- Colvin, Mark (7 October 1999). "John Menadue interview transcript". ABC Radio National.
- John Menadue, University of Western Sydney, archived from the original on 23 August 2006
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John Menadue | |
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| 7th Australian Ambassador to Japan | |
| In office March 1977 –September 1980 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | Mick Shann |
| Succeeded by | James Plimsoll |
| Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet | |
| In office 1 February 1975 –30 September 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | Gough Whitlam Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | John Bunting |
| Succeeded by | Alan Carmody |
| Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs | |
| In office September 1980 –25 March 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Lou Engledow |
| Succeeded by | Bill McKinnon |
| Secretary of the Department of the Special Minister of State | |
| In office 11 March 1983 –2 March 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Darcy McGaurr |
| Secretary of the Department of Trade | |
| In office 1983–1987 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Scully |
| Succeeded by | Vince FitzGerald |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Laurence Menadue 8 February 1935 Cowell,South Australia,Australia |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 4 |
| Education | Prince Alfred College |
| Alma mater | University of Adelaide |
| Website | johnmenadue.com |
John Laurence Menadue AO (born 8 February 1935) is an Australian businessman and public commentator, and formerly a senior public servant and diplomat. He served as Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet from 1975 to 1976, working under the Whitlam and Fraser governments. He was later appointed by Malcolm Fraser as Australian Ambassador to Japan, in which position he served from 1977 to 1980, after which Menadue returned to Australia and was appointed the Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs from 1980 to 1983. Later in 1983, he became the Secretary of the Department of the Special Minister of State and the Secretary of the Department of Trade. [4]
Menadue was born in the South Australian town of Cowell on 8 February 1935 to a Methodist minister, [5] [6] Laurie G. Menadue, [7] and Elma Florence Menear. [7] His sister, Beth, was two years older than him. [7]
From March 1960 to October 1967 Menadue was private secretary to Gough Whitlam, deputy leader of the Labor Opposition in the federal parliament (Whitlam became leader in February 1967). In 1966 Menadue stood unsuccessfully as Labor candidate for the NSW federal seat of Hume. [8]
Menadue headed the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet from 1974 to 1976, working under prime ministers Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser. He was Australian Ambassador to Japan from 1976 to 1980. [9]
Menadue returned to Australia in 1980 to take up the position of Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. In 1983, he was appointed Secretary of the Department of the Special Minister of State and Department of Trade. [4]
Menadue worked as General Manager of News Limited from 1967 to 1974.
He was Chief Executive Officer of Qantas from June 1986 to July 1989. [9]
In October 1999, Menadue published his autobiography Things You Learn Along the Way. [10] He was the founding Chair of New Matilda (NewMatilda.com), an independent weekly online newsletter which was launched in August 2004. He is the founder and fellow of public-interest think tank, the Centre for Policy Development. [11] He also publishes the public affairs blogsite Pearls and Irritations. [12]
Menadue was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1985 for public service. [13] In 2003 he was awarded the Centenary Medal "for service to Australian society through public service leadership". [14] In 1997, he received the Japanese Imperial Award, The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Kun-itto Zuihō-shō), the highest honour awarded to foreigners who are not head of state or head of government. [15]
Menadue was first married to Cynthia née Trowbridge with whom he had four children and one foster daughter. Cynthia died of cancer in October 1984 aged 49. In 1986, Menadue married Susie, who brought two children to the marriage. Together they have fifteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. [16] [17] Susie died in October 2024. [3]
I was born to Laurie and Elma Menadue in Cowell, South Australia, in February 1935. My sister, Beth, was two years older. I lived in Cowell until I was two.
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Bruce Douglas Haigh was an Australian political commentator and diplomat. He joined the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs in 1972 and served in South Africa.
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Centre for Policy Development (CPD) is a public policy think tank in Australia.
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Sir Edward John Bunting was an Australian public servant and diplomat, whose senior career appointments included Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Sir Cyrus Lenox Simson Hewitt was an Australian public servant. His career in the Commonwealth Public Service spanned from 1939 to 1980, and included periods as a senior adviser and departmental secretary. His most prominent position was as secretary of the Prime Minister's Department during the Gorton government (1968–1971). He worked closely with Prime Minister John Gorton, although his initial appointment in place of John Bunting was seen as unconventional. Hewitt was also influential as secretary of the Department of Minerals and Energy during the Whitlam government (1972–1975), working under minister Rex Connor. He later served as chairman of Qantas (1975–1980).
Sir Peter James Lawler was an Australian senior public servant and diplomat. He served in senior roles under Prime Ministers Menzies, Holt, McEwen, Gorton, McMahon, Whitlam, Fraser and Hawke, and ended his career as Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See.
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Dennis Walter Argall was an Australian diplomat and senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). He was Australia’s Ambassador to China from 1984 until 1985. A tribute in John Menadue's, public commentator, and formerly a senior public servant and diplomat, journal of public policy, Pearls and Irritations described him as "curious, funny, fiercely intelligent, committed to social justice, and fairly often the world had to catch up with him. He didn’t laugh at sexist and racist jokes, he didn’t find them funny. He was a career diplomat, a former Ambassador to China, and he wrote the first speech in the Australian Parliament that talked about human rights."
The Palace letters, sometimes labelled as the Palace papers, were letters between Queen Elizabeth II, through her Private Secretary Martin Charteris, and Australian Governor-General Sir John Kerr around the time of the 1975 constitutional crisis, in which Kerr dismissed Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. The phrase 'Palace letters' originated in the work of Australian historian and Whitlam biographer Professor Jenny Hocking, who successfully overturned the Queen's embargo over these letters, as a reference to Buckingham Palace, the official residence of Elizabeth in London.
