James Reginald Halligan

James Reginald Halligan OBE (8 November 1894 – 21 November 1968) was a senior Australian public servant. Between 1944 and 1951, he was Secretary of the Department of External Territories.

James Reginald Halligan OBE
Secretary of the Department of External Territories
In office
11 May 1944 – 11 May 1951
Personal details
Born(1894-11-08)8 November 1894
East Melbourne
Died21 November 1968(1968-11-21) (aged 74)
Canberra
NationalityAustralian
Spouse
Marjorie Millicent Halligan (née Grosvenor)
​
​
(m. 1936⁠–⁠1968)​
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
OccupationPublic servant

Life and career

Halligan was born on 8 November 1894 in East Melbourne to Jane and John J. Halligan. He attended Christian Brothers College, St Kilda.[1]

He joined the Commonwealth Public Service in the Department of External Affairs in 1911 and moved to the Department of Home and Territories when it was established in 1916.[1]

After obtaining a diploma of commerce from the University of Melbourne in 1927, he moved to Canberra.[2]

In 1934, Halligan participated in the first air mail flight to New Guinea, captained by pioneer aviator Charles Ulm. Halligan was head of the territories section of the Prime Minister's Department in 1941 when the Department of External Territories was created, when he became an Assistant Secretary.[3]

From 1944 to 1951, Halligan was Secretary of the Department of External Territories.[4] When Paul Hasluck was appointed Minister for Territories in 1951 he was made a special adviser to the Minister.[5] As an adviser, Halligan was freed from routine administration work to focus primarily on United Nations Trusteeship Council matters.[6] He remained employed as an adviser to Hasluck until his retirement in 1959.[2]

Halligan died on 21 November 1968 in Canberra.[7]

Awards

Halligan was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1960.[2]

References
  1. CP 159: James Reginald HALLIGAN OBE, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 28 September 2016
  2. Thompson, Roger C., "Halligan, James Reginald (1894–1968)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 4 March 2016
  3. "On Territories Affairs More Than 48 Years". The Canberra Times. 7 November 1959. p. 4.
  4. CA 42: Department of External Territories [I], Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 21 January 2015
  5. "Big Jobs At Canberra". Barrier Miner. Broken Hill, NSW. 31 May 1951. p. 8.
  6. "Federal Post Reshuffle Announced". The Advertiser. Adelaide, SA. 30 May 1951. p. 5.
  7. "Top public servant dies in Canberra". The Canberra Times. 23 November 1968. p. 8.
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