Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey of Berwick and the City of Westminster (1890-1976), politician and statesman, was born in Brisbane, educated in Melbourne, and served in Gallipoli and France during World War I. In 1926 he was appointed Commonwealth Liaison Officer in London. He returned to Australia in 1931 to enter federal parliament as United Australia Party member for the seat of Corio. In 1940 he opened Australia's first diplomatic legation, in Washington, but in 1942 Winston Churchill invited him to serve as British Minister of State in the Middle East. Later, he became governor of Bengal. Casey was a skilled diplomat, and as our Minister for External Affairs from 1951 to 1960, he did much to facilitate dialogue between Australia and the emerging Asian nations. Retiring with a life peerage, he returned to public life as governor-general from 1965 to 1969.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1998
© Louis Kahan/Copyright Agency, 2024
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