Sir Edwin McCarthy CBE (30 March 1896 – 4 September 1980) was a senior Australian public servant and diplomat. He was a prominent senior trade official, including as head of the Department of Commerce and Agriculture between 1945 and 1950.
Edwin McCarthy | |
|---|---|
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| Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Agriculture | |
| In office 21 November 1945 – 26 April 1950 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edwin McCarthy 30 March 1896 Walhalla, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 4 September 1980 (aged 84) Woden Valley Hospital, Garran, Canberra, Australia |
| Resting place | Gungahlin Cemetery |
| Spouse | Marjorie Mary Graham (m. 1939) |
| Children | John McCarthy, Melisande McCarthy |
| Occupation | Public servant |
Life and career
McCarthy was born in Walhalla, Victoria on 30 March 1896 to parents Catherine McCarthy (née Kennedy) and Daniel McCarthy.[1]
He joined the Commonwealth Public Service as a messenger in the Postmaster-General's Department in April 1911.[2]
McCarthy married Marjorie Mary Graham on 4 July 1939 in Sydney.[1] The couple had two children: a daughter, and a son, John McCarthy.[3]
From 1945 to 1950, McCarthy was Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Agriculture.[4] His primary expertise was grain commodity matters, and he devised the Australian wheat price stabilisation scheme after World War II.[2]
Between 1958 and 1962, McCarthy was Australian Ambassador to the Netherlands.[5] He was accredited to Belgium also, from 1959.[6]
In 1962, McCarthy was appointed Head of the Australian Permanent Mission to the European Atomic Energy Community in Brussels.[7]
McCarthy died on 4 September 1980 at Woden Valley Hospital in Garran, Canberra.[1] He had been admitted earlier within the same week after a brain aneurysm.[8]
Awards
McCarthy was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in June 1952, while serving as Deputy High Commissioner in London.[9] He was made a Knight Bachelor in June 1955, whilst serving in the same role.[10]