Nick Parkinson

Sir Nick Parkinson
Sir Nick Parkinson
Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs
	In office; 18 February 1977 – 4 September 1979
Personal details
Born	Nicholas Fancourt Parkinson; 5 December 1925; England
Died	12 September 2001 (aged 75); Canberra
Nationality	Australian
Spouse(s)	Roslyn (née Campbell) (m. 1952)
Children	Sheena and Joanna
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Occupation	Public servant

Sir Nicholas Fancourt "Nick" Parkinson (5 December 1925 – 12 September 2001) was a senior Australian Public Servant. He was Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs between February 1977 and September 1979.

Early life

Nick Parkinson was born in England on 5 December 1925, migrating to Australia with his family when his father was appointed headmaster of King's School Parramatta.[1]

Career

Parkinson joined the Department of External Affairs as a cadet in 1951.[2]

Rising up the ranks, he was appointed a Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1974.[2] He was named Australian Ambassador to the United States in 1976.[3] Before departing on the post, he said that it was "enormously important" to keep in touch with American thinking on the Soviet Union, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, China and Japan.[4]

Parkinson returned from Washington to become the Secretary of the Department in 1977.[2][5] Whilst head of the department, he suffered severe eyestrain.[6] In 1979, he left his Secretary role to return to the United States as Australian Ambassador once again.[7]

Awards

Parkinson was made a Knight Bachelor in 1979.[8]

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References

Hotson, Debra (28 September 2001). Anderson, Ken (ed.). "Diplomat of world standing". The Daily Telegraph. News Digital Media.
Henderson, Peter (21 September 2001). "OBITUARY - A diplomat held in great affection". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. p. 15.
"Australian Ambassador to US named". The Canberra Times. 2 February 1976. p. 1.
George, Peter (24 February 1976), "New Ambassador to the US: A concern with what's beneath the iceberg tip", The Canberra Times, p. 2
"New Head". The Canberra Times. 1 March 1977. p. 9.
"On leave". The Canberra Times. 13 July 1979. p. 3.
Gaind, Rama (1 October 1979). "Second spell of life in America". The Canberra Times. p. 9.
Search Australian Honours: PARKINSON, Nicholas Fancourt, Australian Government, archived from the original on 24 March 2014

Government offices
Preceded by Alan Renouf	Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs 1977 – 1979	Succeeded by Peter Henderson
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Gordon Upton as Charge d'Affaires	Australian Ambassador to the United States 1976	Succeeded by Alan Renouf
Preceded by Alan Renouf	Australian Ambassador to the United States 1979 – 1982	Succeeded by Bob Cotton

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[1] Hotson, Debra (28 September 2001). Anderson, Ken (ed.). "Diplomat of world standing". The Daily Telegraph. News Digital Media.

[Henderson-2] Henderson, Peter (21 September 2001). "OBITUARY - A diplomat held in great affection". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. p. 15.

[3] "Australian Ambassador to US named". The Canberra Times. 2 February 1976. p. 1.

[4] George, Peter (24 February 1976), "New Ambassador to the US: A concern with what's beneath the iceberg tip", The Canberra Times, p. 2

[5] "New Head". The Canberra Times. 1 March 1977. p. 9.

[6] "On leave". The Canberra Times. 13 July 1979. p. 3.

[7] Gaind, Rama (1 October 1979). "Second spell of life in America". The Canberra Times. p. 9.

[8] Search Australian Honours: PARKINSON, Nicholas Fancourt, Australian Government, archived from the original on 24 March 2014