Edward Ronald Walker
| Sir Edward Ronald Walker CBE | |
|---|---|
| Born |
26 January 1907 Cobar, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 28 November 1988 (aged 81) Paris, France |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney (BA, MA) University of Cambridge (PhD, LittD) |
| Occupation | Diplomat and economist |
| Spouse(s) | Louise Clementine Donckers |
Sir Edward Ronald Walker CBE (26 January 1907 – 28 November 1988) was an Australian diplomat and economist who served as Australia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ambassador to Germany, Japan, and France.
Walker was born on 26 January 1907 in Cobar, New South Wales the, eldest child of Frederick Thomas Walker, a Methodist minister, and Mary Melvina Annie King. Born into a prominent family in the Methodist movement, Walker's mother was also the daughter of a Methodist minister and his paternal cousin was the Methodist minister and social activist Sir Alan Walker. Nevertheless, Walker, on account of his family circumstances, had to leave school at an early age and later matriculated to Fort Street Boys’ High School. After finishing high school, in 1924 Walker won a 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. 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.
After graduating with first class honours from his master's degree, Walker worked with Robert Madgwick to publish an economics textbook "An Outline of Australian Economics" (published 1932). On account of his academic success, Walker was also awarded a Rockefeller Foundation scholarship in 1931 and entered St John’s College, Cambridge, studying for a doctorate in economics. While at Cambridge Walker joined the Political Economy Club, which included amongst its founders John Maynard Keynes, and he became a firm adherent to Keynes' ideas on economics throughout his life. His doctoral dissertation, entitled "Australia in the World Depression", was supervised by Dennis Robertson and Arthur Cecil Pigou and at award in 1933 was the second PhD in economics at Cambridge. On 8 April 1933, at Beaumont, Belgium, Walker married Louise Clementine Donckers, a schoolteacher.
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