William Worth OBE (born 13 December 1912, date of death unknown) was an Australian diplomat who served two terms as the acting secretary general of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
William Worth was born in Perth, Western Australia on 13 December 1912. He later moved to Adelaide, South Australia, where he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 18 June 1940. [1] Achieving the rank of Flight Lieutenant, Worth served in the RAAF until 1951. During World War II Worth was on the air staff of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force and played a part in the invasion of France in 1944. [2] He later rose to the office of Deputy Director of Intelligence for the RAAF. [3]
On leaving the RAAF he joined the Australian Department of Supply in which he was responsible for security. Prior to leaving for Bangkok to take up an appointment as Deputy Secretary-General of SEATO, Worth served as Assistant Secretary in the Prime Minister's Department in Canberra. [2]
In September 1957, Worth was appointed the first Deputy Secretary-General of SEATO and took over as acting Secretary General when Pote Sarasin took office as Prime Minister of Thailand on 22 September 1957. With the return of Sarasin on 10 January 1958, Worth continued as Deputy Secretary General. [4]
On 13 December 1963, he again became acting secretary general of SEATO, after Secretary General Sarasin had resigned after his appointment as Minister for National Development in Thailand. Worth continued until the substantive appointment of Konthi Suphamongkhon on 19 February 1964. [2]
From 1 November 1975 to 31 October 1977, Worth was appointed Administrator of the Australian Christmas Island Territory. In the 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours, Worth was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for public service on Christmas Island. [5] [6]
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal institution of SEATO was established on 19 February 1955 at a meeting of treaty partners in Bangkok, Thailand. The organization's headquarters was also in Bangkok. Eight members joined the organization.
Pote Sarasin was the ninth prime minister of Thailand from September 1957 to December 1957. He belonged to the influential Sarasin family. He served as foreign minister from 1949 to 1950 and then served as ambassador to the United States. In September 1957 when Sarit Thanarat seized power in a military coup, he appointed Pote to be the Prime Minister of Thailand. He resigned in December 1957. Pote also served as the first Secretary General of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization from September 1957 until 1963.
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