John Menadue

John Laurence Menadue (born 8 February 1935) is an Australian businessman and public commentator, and formerly a senior public servant and diplomat. He served as Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet from 1975 to 1976, working under the Whitlam and Fraser governments. He was later appointed by Malcolm Fraser as Australian Ambassador to Japan, in which position he served from 1977 to 1980, after which Menadue returned to Australia and was appointed the Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs from 1980 to 1983. Later in 1983, he became the Secretary of the Department of the Special Minister of State and the Secretary of the Department of Trade.^[4]

Biography

Menadue was born in the South Australian town of Cowell on 8 February 1935 to a Methodist minister,^[5][6] Laurie G. Menadue,^[7] and Elma Florence Menear.^[7] His sister, Beth, was two years older than him.^[7]

From March 1960 to October 1967 Menadue was private secretary to Gough Whitlam, deputy leader of the Labor Opposition in the federal parliament (Whitlam became leader in February 1967). In 1966 Menadue stood unsuccessfully as Labor candidate for the NSW federal seat of Hume.^[8]

Public service and diplomatic career

Menadue headed the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet from 1974 to 1976, working under prime ministers Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser. He was Australian Ambassador to Japan from 1976 to 1980.^[9]

Menadue returned to Australia in 1980 to take up the position of Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. In 1983, he was appointed Secretary of the Department of the Special Minister of State and Department of Trade.^[4]

Business career

Menadue worked as General Manager of News Limited from 1967 to 1974.

He was chief executive officer of Qantas from June 1986 to July 1989.^[9]

In October 1999, Menadue published his autobiography Things You Learn Along the Way.^[10] He was the founding Chair of New Matilda (NewMatilda.com), an independent weekly online newsletter which was launched in August 2004. He is the founder and fellow of public-interest think tank, the Centre for Policy Development.^[11] He also publishes the public affairs blogsite Pearls and Irritations.^[12]

Honours

Menadue was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1985 for public service.^[13] In 2003 he was awarded the Centenary Medal "for service to Australian society through public service leadership".^[14] In 1997, he received the Japanese Imperial Award, The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Kun-itto Zuihō-shō), the highest honour awarded to foreigners who are not head of state or head of government.^[15]

Personal

Menadue was first married to Cynthia with whom he had four children and one foster daughter. Cynthia died of cancer in October 1984 aged 49. In 1986, Menadue married Susie, who brought two children to the marriage. Together they have fifteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.^[16][17] Susie died in October 2024.^[3]

Notes

1. ^ Menadue, John (1999). Things You Learn Along The Way. David Lovell Publishing. pp. 34, 2.
2. ^ Menadue, John (1999). Things You Learn Along The Way. David Lovell Publishing. p. 253.
3. ^ Menadue, John (2024-10-24). "Vale Susie Menadue". Pearls and Irritations. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
4. ^ "John Menadue AO". Prince Alfred College. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
5. ^ Menadue, John (1999). Things You Learn Along The Way. David Lovell Publishing. p. 4. I was born to Laurie and Elma Menadue in Cowell, South Australia, in February 1935. My sister, Beth, was two years older. I lived in Cowell until I was two.
6. ^ "Family Notices". The Chronicle. Vol. LXXVII, no. 4,084. 21 February 1935. p. 45. Retrieved 2 October 2023. – via National Library of Australia.
7. ^ Menadue, John (1999). Things You Learn Along The Way. David Lovell Publishing. pp. 4, 7.
8. ^ Barnes, Allan (3 October 1975). "Happy revolution around the PM". The Age. p. 5.
9. ^ "John Menadue", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, archived 25 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
10. ^ "John Menadue", PM, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, archived 3 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
11. ^ "About John Menadue", Centre for Policy Development, 24 October 2012, archived 14 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
12. ^ Pearls and Irritations homepage, by free subscription.
13. ^ "Officer of the Order of Australia: Menadue, John Laurence". It's an Honour. Australian Government. 10 June 1985.
14. ^ "Centenary Medal: Menadue, John Laurence". It's an Honour. Australian Government. 1 January 2001.
15. ^ "Alumni awards", Adelaidean, University of Adelaide, September 2009, archived 30 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
16. ^ Slee, John (18 August 1985). "Wattle blossom diplomat". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 63.. Cynthia Menadue wrote a book about her experiences in Japan, especially during the time she was there when her husband was the Australian ambassador in Tokyo. Her book was published as Cynthia Menadue, 1985, Shadows on the Shoji: A Personal View of Japan, Sydney: John Ferguson, ISBN 0 909134 82 0.
17. ^ About John Menadue on Menadue's website

References and external links

• Colvin, Mark (7 October 1999). "John Menadue interview transcript". Radio National.
• "John Menadue", University of Western Sydney, archived 23 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine