Bertram Ballard

Bertram Charles Ballard (22 January 1903 – 15 July 1981) was an Australian public servant and diplomat.[1]

Bertram Ballard
Born	Bertram Charles Ballard (1903-01-22)22 January 1903 Toorak, Victoria, Australia
Died	15 July 1981(1981-07-15) (aged 78) Kew, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	University of Melbourne (BA, LLB, MA)
Occupation	Public servant, diplomat

Life and career

Ballard was born on 22 January 1903 in Toorak, Melbourne the eldest of three children in his family. He attended Scotch College and then the University of Melbourne, graduating with first-class honours.[2]

Ballard joined the Commonwealth Public Service as Australian government solicitor in New Hebrides, Vanuatu in 1934. On 6 August 1940, Ballard was appointed Australia's first official representative in Nouméa, New Caledonia. He was tasked with encouraging war-time cooperation between New Caledonia and Australia and was also responsible for reporting to the Australian Government on economic and political affairs.[3]

He applied for a job in the Department of External Affairs in 1943.[2] In his first decade at the external affairs department, he was posted to Japan, the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), France, the Soviet Union and Switzerland.

In April 1952, Ballard was appointed Australia's first Minister to Thailand.[4][5] He left for Bangkok that month to take up the posting.[6]

In February 1955 the then External Affairs Minister appointed Ballard Australian Minister to Israel.[7]

Ballard retired in 1967 from his final posting as Australian Ambassador to Sweden (1965–1967).[8][9]

On 15 July 1981, Ballard died at Kew, Victoria.[10]

References

1. Ballard, Bertram Charles; Miller, John Donald Bruce (1975), Bertram Charles Ballard interviewed by J.D.B. Miller
2. Lee, David, "Ballard, Bertram Charles (1903–1981)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 23 June 2015
3. 75th anniversary of Australian diplomatic representation in Noumea, Australian Government, 2015, archived from the original on 14 February 2016
4. "Minister to Thailand Appointed". The West Australian. WA. 5 April 1952. p. 9.
5. "Minister to Siam: Mr. B. C. Ballard Appointed". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW. 4 April 1952. p. 2.
6. "Mr. C. Ballard Minister to Thailand". The Canberra Times. ACT. 4 April 1952. p. 1.
7. "New Minister to Israel". The Canberra Times. ACT. 21 February 1955. p. 2.
8. "Envoy to Sweden named". The Canberra Times. ACT. 28 September 1965. p. 10.
9. "New envoy to Sweden". The Canberra Times. ACT. 26 September 1967. p. 3.
10. "Deaths". The Canberra Times. ACT. 18 July 1981. p. 21.

Diplomatic posts
New title Position established	Australian Official Representative in Noumea 1940–1943	Succeeded by Noël Deschamps
New title Position established	Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations Office in Geneva 1949–1951	Succeeded by Patrick Shaw
Preceded by Allan Loomes as Chargé d'affaires	Australian Minister to Thailand 1952–1955	Succeeded by David Hay
Preceded by Osmond Charles Fuhrman	Australian Minister to Israel 1955–1960	Succeeded by John McMillan
Preceded by Stewart Wolfe Jamieson	High Commissioner of Australia to Ghana 1960–1962	Succeeded by Barrie Dexter as Acting High Commissioner
Preceded by Charles Kevin	Australian High Commissioner to Ceylon 1962–1965	Succeeded by Gordon Upton
Preceded by John Rowland	Australian Ambassador to Sweden 1965–1967	Succeeded by Roy Peachey