David Smith (public servant)
|
Sir David Iser Smith KCVO, AO |
|
|---|---|
| Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia | |
|
In office 1973–1990 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General |
Sir Paul Hasluck (1973–74) Sir John Kerr (1974–77) Sir Zelman Cowen (1977–82) Sir Ninian Stephen (1982–89) Bill Hayden (1989–90) |
| Preceded by | Sir Murray Tyrrell |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Sturkey |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
9 August 1933 Melbourne |
| Spouse(s) | June Smith (m. 1955) |
| Alma mater |
University of Melbourne Australian National University |
Sir David Iser Smith KCVO, AO (born 9 August 1933) is a retired Australian public servant. He was the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia between 1973 and 1990, serving Sir Paul Hasluck, Sir John Kerr, Sir Zelman Cowen, Sir Ninian Stephen and Bill Hayden.
Smith was born in Melbourne to Polish immigrant parents named Szmitkowski, and was educated at Princes Hill State School, Scotch College, the University of Melbourne, and the Australian National University, where he gained a Bachelor of Arts.
Smith began his career in the Australian Public Service in 1953, and was later appointed as Private Secretary to the Minister for Interior and Works from 1958 until 1963. He was then appointed Secretary to the Federal Executive Council and head of the Government Branch, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, from 1971 to 1973.
In 1973, Smith was appointed Official Secretary to Sir Paul Hasluck, and became the first Secretary of the Order of Australia on its establishment in 1975. After Hasluck's retirement, Smith then served Sir John Kerr and was present at the time of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Following the dismissal of the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, on 11 November 1975, Smith read out the proclamation of the dissolution of parliament on the steps of the then Parliament House in Canberra:
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