John Burton (diplomat)

John Burton
Photo: University Relations, George Mason University
Born	(1915-03-02)2 March 1915 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died	23 June 2010(2010-06-23) (aged 95) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Education	Newington College University of Sydney London School of Economics
Occupation	Public Servant, author, academic
Parent(s)	Rev. John Wear Burton

John Wear Burton (2 March 1915 – 23 June 2010) was an Australian public servant, High Commissioner and academic.

Burton was born in Melbourne, the son of the Reverend John Wear Burton Methodist Minister. He was educated at Newington College (1924–1932) and went on to graduate from the University of Sydney in 1937.

In 1937 he became a member of the Commonwealth Public Service from where he was granted a Commonwealth scholarship to pursue a doctorate at the London School of Economics. He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1941 and served as private secretary to Herbert Vere Evatt. In 1947, aged 32, he became Secretary of the Department of External Affairs and held that position until June 1950. At the beginning of 1951 he took up the position of Australian High Commissioner to Ceylon, but resigned to return home and contest the Federal election of that year in the electorate of Lowe. As ALP candidate he was beaten by William McMahon, a future Prime Minister of Australia.

While writing his first book, The Alternative, Burton farmed outside Canberra and in 1960 was awarded a fellowship at the Australian National University. Two years later the Rockefeller Foundation awarded him a grant to study neutralism in Africa and Asia. In 1963, while a Reader in International Relations at University College University of London, he established the Centre for the Analysis of Conflict. He then went on to hold fellowships at numerous universities while living in Canberra.