View source for Neil Currie

{{Short description|Australian public servant & policymaker (1926-1999)}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Sir Neil Currie
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|CBE|size=100%}}
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| office1 = [[Departmental secretary|Secretary]] of the [[Department of Supply]]
| term_start1 = 1 November 1971
| term_end1 = 12 June 1974
| office2 = [[Departmental secretary|Secretary]] of the [[Department of Manufacturing Industry]]
| term_start2 = 12 June 1974
| term_end2 = 22 December 1975
| office3 = [[Departmental secretary|Secretary]] of the [[Department of Industry and Commerce (1975–1982)|Department of Industry and Commerce]]
| term_start3 = 22 December 1975
| term_end3 = 7 May 1982
| birth_name = Neil Smith Currie
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|08|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Mackay, Queensland]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1999|07|30|1926|08|20|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Batemans Bay]], New South Wales
| occupation = Public servant
| years_active =
| nationality = {{flagicon|Australia}} Australian
| website =
| parents = [[George Alexander Currie]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Geraldine Evelyn Dexter|April 1951<!--Omission per Template:Marriage instructions-->}}
| alma_mater = {{nowrap begin}}[[University of Western Australia]] <small>([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])</small>{{nowrap end}}
| children = Deborah, Keith, Bruce and Janet
}}
'''Sir Neil Smith Currie''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|CBE}} (20 August 1926 – 30 July 1999) was a senior Australian public servant and policymaker.
==Life and career==
Neil Currie was born on 20 August 1926 in Mackay, Queensland.<ref name=Farqu>{{citation|url=http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/currie-sir-neil-smith-280|archive-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202013133/http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/currie-sir-neil-smith-280|title=Currie, Sir Neil Smith (1926–1999)|author-link=John Farquharson (journalist)|first=John|last=Farquharson|url-status=live|publisher=Australian National University}}</ref>
Currie began his [[Australian Public Service|Commonwealth public service]] career in 1948 as a cadet in the [[Department of External Affairs (1921–70)|Department of External Affairs]].<ref name=Farqu/> He graduated from his cadetship alongside [[Rowen Osborn]],  and [[Barrie Dexter]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZouApHbHXuoC&dq=rowen+osborn&pg=PA52-IA3|page=51|title=Ministers, Mandarins and Diplomats|publisher=Melbourne University Press|date=2003|first1=Joan|last1=Beaumont|first2=Christopher|last2=Waters|first3=David|last3=Lowe|first4=Garry|last4=Woodard|isbn=9780522850475}}</ref>
Currie married Geraldine Evelyn Dexter in Tokyo in 1951 during his first posting there.<ref name=Farqu/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/206390508|newspaper=The Age|location=Melbourne, Victoria|date=28 March 1951|page=5|title=Shower Tea}}</ref> Their engagement had been announced in March 1951.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48186114|title=They are engaged|newspaper=The West Australian|location=WA|date=1 March 1951|page=8}}</ref> Three of the couple's four children were born in Tokyo.<ref name=Bryant>{{cite news|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/126902079|title=A good week that got yet better|date=12 June 1982|page=2|newspaper=The Canberra Times|location=ACT|first=John|last=Bryant}}</ref>
He held several positions as a departmental head, namely [[Departmental secretary|Secretary]] of the [[Department of Supply]] between 1971 and 1974,<ref name="NAA CA 57">{{citation|title=CA 57: Department of Supply, Central Office|url=http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/SearchOld.asp?Number=CA+57|publisher=National Archives of Australia|access-date=2 April 2014}}</ref> Secretary of the [[Department of Manufacturing Industry]] between 1974 and 1975,<ref name="NAA CA 1770">{{citation|title=CA 1770: Department of Manufacturing Industry, Central Office|url=http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/SearchOld.asp?Number=CA+1770|publisher=National Archives of Australia|access-date=2 April 2014}}</ref> and Secretary of the [[Department of Industry and Commerce (1975–1982)|Department of Industry and Commerce]].<ref name="NAA CA 1956">{{citation|title=CA 1956: Department of Industry and Commerce [1], Central Office|url=http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/SearchOld.asp?Number=CA+1956|publisher=National Archives of Australia|access-date=2 April 2014}}</ref>
In 1982 then Foreign Minister [[Tony Street]] appointed Currie the Australian Ambassador to Japan.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/126901742|title=New Ambassador to Japan|date=10 June 1982|page=9|newspaper=The Canberra Times|location=ACT}}</ref><ref name=Bryant/> His posting, until 1986, was at a time when Japan was Australia's biggest trading partner.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/119468311|title=Trade with Japan could grow, but with change|first1=Andrew|last1=Fraser|first2=Catherine|last2=Warry|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=14 August 1986|location=ACT|page=10}}</ref>
Currie died in Batemans Bay on 30 July 1999, aged 72.<ref name=Farqu/>  His wife, Geraldine, died on 2 May 2019 at the age of 92.<ref>Reported in ''The Canberra Times'', 8 May 2019.</ref>
==Awards and honours==
Currie was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1978.<ref>{{citation|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1064635|archive-date=1 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401234552/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1064635&search_type=quick&showInd=true|title=Search Australian Honours: CURRIE, Neil Smith|publisher=Australian Government}}</ref> In 1982 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor.<ref>{{citation|title=Search Australian Honours: CURRIE, Neil Smith|publisher=Australian Government|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1083471|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401234715/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1083471&search_type=quick&showInd=true|archive-date=1 April 2014}}</ref>
In 2000, the Australia Japan Foundation established the Sir Neil Currie Australian Studies Award Program to commemorate Currie's life and his contribution to Australian-Japanese relations.<ref>{{citation|url=http://ajf.australia.or.jp/en/awards/sirneil/|title=Sir Neil Currie Australian Studies Awards|publisher=Australian Government|archive-date=11 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211193046/http://ajf.australia.or.jp/en/awards/sirneil/}}</ref>
A street in the [[Canberra]] suburb of [[Casey, Australian Capital Territory|Casey]] in 2009 was named Neil Currie Street in Currie's honour.<ref name=Casey>{{citation|url=http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/tools_resources/place_search3?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkYyMDMuOS4yNDkuMyUyRlBsYWNlTmFtZXMlMkZQbGFjZURldGFpbHMuYXNweCUzRm9iamVjdElEJTNENjU2NDMmYWxsPTE%3D|title=Neil Currie Street|publisher=ACT Government Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate|archive-date=27 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227060054/http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/tools_resources/place_search3?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkYyMDMuOS4yNDkuMyUyRlBsYWNlTmFtZXMlMkZQbGFjZURldGFpbHMuYXNweCUzRm9iamVjdElEJTNENjU2NDMmYWxsPTE%3D}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* Mitcham, Chad J., 'Currie, Sir Neil Smith (1926–1999)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/currie-sir-neil-smith-280, published online 2023.
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{{s-bef|before=[[Alan Cooley]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Departmental secretary|Secretary]] of the [[Department of Supply]]|years=1971{{spaced ndash}}1974}}
{{s-aft|after=Himself|as=Secretary of the Department of Manufacturing Industry}}
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{{s-aft|after=Himself|as=Secretary of the Department of Industry and Commerce|rows=2}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Frank Pryor]]|as=Secretary of the Department of Secondary Industry}}
{{s-bef|before=Himself|as=Secretary of the Department of Manufacturing Industry}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Departmental secretary|Secretary]] of the [[Department of Industry and Commerce (1975–1982)|Department of Industry and Commerce (I)]]|years=1975{{spaced ndash}}1982}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Tom Hayes (public servant)|Tom Hayes]]|as=Secretary of the Department of Industry and Commerce (II)}}
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{{succession box|title=[[List of Australian Ambassadors to Japan|Australian Ambassador to Japan]]|before=[[James Plimsoll]]|after=[[Geoff Miller (diplomat)|Geoff Miller]]|years=1982 – 1986}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Currie, Neil}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Australian Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Australia to Japan]]
[[Category:People from Mackay, Queensland]]
[[Category:University of Western Australia alumni]]