Edward Ronald Walker

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Sir Edward Ronald Walker
Cobar, New South Wales, Australia
Died28 November 1988(1988-11-28) (aged 81)
Paris, France
Alma materUniversity of Sydney (BA, MA)
University of Cambridge (PhD, LittD)
Occupation(s)Diplomat and economist
SpouseLouise Clementine Donckers

Sir Edward Ronald Walker

France
.

Early life and education

Walker was born on 26 January 1907 in

Teachers College scholarship to the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1927 and then a Master of Arts (MA) in 1930 in economics and psychology.[1] In 1927 Walker was given a lecturing position in economics by Sydney University and in 1930 was appointed acting-Dean of the Faculty of Economics.[2]

After graduating with first class honours from his master's degree, Walker worked with

PhD in economics at Cambridge. On 8 April 1933, at Beaumont, Belgium, Walker married Louise Clementine Donckers, a schoolteacher.[1]

Academic career

On his return to Australia, Walker resumed his position as a lecturer in economics at the University of Sydney from 1933. Walker later made an appearance before the 1936-37 Royal Commission on Monetary and Banking Systems, which was established by the Federal Government of

New South Wales Treasury.[3]

He served the NSW Treasury in this capacity until in March 1939, he was appointed to succeed Frank Mauldon as Professor of Economics at the University of Tasmania and also as an economic adviser to the Tasmanian Government.[3] With the outbreak of war, Walker studied many aspects of Australia's economy under wartime conditions and regulation. In December 1941 he was appointed chief economic adviser and later deputy director-general of the newly established Department of War Organization of Industry in Melbourne. Walker was also appointed a member of the Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Finance and Economic Policy.[1] In office as Professor of Economics until 1946, in 1949 Walker was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters (Litt.D) by Cambridge University in recognition of his prolific publications on the Australian war economy.

Diplomatic career

With the end of the war, Walker's government position was abolished, and was sent by the Commonwealth to be chief of the country programs branch of the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), serving as chairman on the first executive board (1948–1950) and was elected to serve as chairman of the UNESCO finance committee in 1949–1950.[4] In 1948 he was also appointed as Australia's representative on the United Nations Economic and Social Council until 1950. He remained in Paris until 1950, when he returned to Australia to take up an appointment as an Executive member of the National Security Resources Board, which had been established following the outbreak of the Korean War
.

Walker served on the board until mid-1952 when he was appointed Australia’s first

Soviet invasion of Hungary. Walker himself served as President of the Council twice, in June 1956 and June 1957. Walker also served as Australia's representative on the United Nations Trusteeship Council
(1956–1958).

Walker's next posting was back to Paris in 1959 as

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).[9]
He served in this last posting until his retirement in 1973.

Later life and death

In his retirement Walker continued to live with his wife Louise in France, occasionally writing articles on economic matters for the

Canberra Times. Survived by his wife, son, and daughter Walker died aged 81 on 28 November 1988 in Paris and was buried in Hellenvilliers cemetery, Normandy. His obituary in the Canberra Times on 1 December noted that he was "a jovial man, not given to ambition but with a talent for tackling demanding jobs with an air of good-natured charm. He enjoyed the diplomatic life with style."[10]

Awards and honours

In May 1956 Walker was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).[11] In June 1963 Walker became a Knight Bachelor.[12]

On 2 October 1973 Walker was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science in Economics (Hon.D.Sc.) by the University of Sydney.[13]

In March 2010, Ronald Walker Street in Casey, Canberra, was named in his honour.[14]

Publications

  • Edward Ronald Walker; Robert Bowden Madgwick (1932). An Outline of Australian Economics. Sydney & Melbourne: Whitcombe & Tombs. p. 248.
  • Edward Ronald Walker (1933). Australia in the World Depression (Thesis). London: King. p. 219.
  • Edward Ronald Walker;
    Angus and Robertson
    . p. 219.
  • Edward Ronald Walker (1936). Unemployment policy: with special reference to Australia. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. p. 258.
  • Edward Ronald Walker; Roy Maitland Beecroft (1941). New developments in Australia's war economy. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. p. 20.
  • R. G. Osborne; Edward Ronald Walker (1941). Federalism in Canada : a review of the report of the Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations, 1940. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. p. 15.
  • Edward Ronald Walker (December 1941). Total war-with reservations: Australia's war economy, May to October, 1941. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. p. 16.
  • Edward Ronald Walker; Roy Maitland Beecroft (1942). Changes in the stock of Australian money. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. p. 8.
    OCLC 225930703
    .
  • Edward Ronald Walker (1943). The transformation of war-time controls. Realities of reconstruction. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press in association with Oxford University Press. p. 24.
  • Edward Ronald Walker (1943). From economic theory to policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 273.
  • Edward Ronald Walker (1947). The Australian economy in war and reconstruction. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 426.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Cornish, Selwyn (2012). "Sir Edward Ronald Walker (1907–1988)". Walker, Sir Edward Ronald (1907–1988). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University: Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  2. ^ a b "LEAVING FOR CAMBRIDGE". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 14 February 1931. p. 12. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b "DR. E. R. WALKER". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 2 March 1939. p. 11. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  4. ^ "DR. WALKER GETS U.N. POST". Perth Gazette. Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 26 November 1949. p. 10. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  5. ^ "DR. E. R. WALKER TO BE AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 19 April 1952. p. 4. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Dr. E. R. Walker To Be Australian Delegate To U.N." The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 17 December 1955. p. 2. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Dr. Walker Presents Credentials". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 12 January 1956. p. 2. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  8. ^ "AMBASSADOR APPOINTED TO COUNCIL". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 19 February 1962. p. 2. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  9. Canberra Times
    . ACT: National Library of Australia. 26 May 1971. p. 27. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Obituary: SIR RONALD WALKER". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 1 December 1988. p. 11. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  11. ^ "WALKER, Edward Ronald - The Order of the British Empire - Commander (Civil)". It's an Honour database. Australian Government. 31 May 1956. Retrieved 18 May 2015. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
  12. ^ "WALKER, Edward Ronald - Knight Bachelor". It's an Honour database. Australian Government. 8 June 1963. Retrieved 18 May 2015. Ambassador in Paris
  13. ^ "Honorary awards - His Excellency Sir Ronald Walker CBE". University Archives. University of Sydney. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Ronald Walker Street", Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate - Planning, ACT Government, archived from the original on 24 November 2016
Academic offices
Preceded by Professor of Economics at the University of Tasmania
1939 – 1946 		Succeeded by
Prof. Kenneth Dallas (acting)
Diplomatic posts
Preceded byas Minister to Japan
Ambassador of Australia to Japan

1952 – 1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
1956 – 1959 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
President of the United Nations Security Council

June 1956 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
President of the United Nations Security Council

June 1957 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Ambassador of Australia to France

1959 – 1968 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council
1964 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Ambassador of Australia to Germany

1968 – 1971 		Succeeded by
New title Permanent Representative of Australia to the OECD
1971 – 1973 		Succeeded by
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