John Crawford | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of theDepartment of Commerce and Agriculture | |
| In office 4 May 1950 – 11 January 1956 | |
| Secretary of theDepartment of Primary Industry | |
| In office 11 January 1956 – 15 February 1956 | |
| Secretary of theDepartment of Trade | |
| In office 11 January 1956 – 31 August 1960 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Grenfell Crawford (1910-04-04)4 April 1910 Hurstville, Sydney |
| Died | 28 October 1984(1984-10-28) (aged 74) Canberra, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Spouse | Lady Jessie Crawford (née Morgan) |
| Children | One daughter |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney |
| Occupation | Economist and administrator |
Sir John Grenfell CrawfordAC CBE (4 April 1910 – 28 October 1984) was anagricultural economist and a key architect ofAustralia's post-war growth.
Born inHurstville, Sydney, Crawford was the tenth of twelve children of Henry Crawford and Harriet Isabel Crawford, née Wood.[1] He was the younger brother of historianMax Crawford and a nephew of state MPsJames Crawford andThomas Crawford.[2] Crawford was educated atSydney Boys High School and theUniversity of Sydney.[3]
Crawford married Jessie Morgan on 18 May 1935 and together they had a daughter.[4]
In 1941 Crawford helped to create the Agricultural Economics Section of theNew South Wales Government's Department of Agriculture.[5]
In 1942 he began working at the Department of War Organisation of Industry, before being appointed Director of Research at theDepartment of Post-War Reconstruction in 1943.[6] In 1945 he was appointed inaugural Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics,[5] followed by Secretary of theDepartment of Commerce and Agriculture (laterDepartment of Trade), and then Secretary of theDepartment of Trade, where he played an important role in forging new trade relationships with the United Kingdom and Japan.[6]
He helped to establish theAustralian Development Assistance Agency (now Australian Aid), the Industries Assistance Commission, andConsultative Group on International Agricultural Research.[6] He was also an adviser to theWorld Bank,Washington D.C.,[5] and Director, Australian Japanese Economic Research Project.
Crawford was a founding member and inaugural chair of theAustralian Centre for International Agricultural Research, astatutory authority focusing on improvingsustainable production indeveloping countries. He was also first chair of the Technical Advisory Committee toCGIAR (formerly Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research)[7] from 1971 to 1976.[5]
Crawford held several positions at theAustralian National University: Director of theResearch School of Pacific (and Asian) Studies (1960-1967);Vice-Chancellor (1968-1973); and thenChancellor (1976–1984).[8]
Crawford was appointed aCommander of the Order of British Empire (CBE) in the1954 New Years Honours List.
He was knighted in1959 New Years Honours List.[1]
In the1978 Australia Day Honours List he was made aCompanion of the Order of Australia (AC).
He was the second president of the Australian Agricultural Economics Society, and in 1983 was made an honorary life member.[5]
He was namedAustralian of the Year in 1981.[9]
In 2009, a street in theCanberra suburb ofCasey was named John Crawford Crescent in Crawford's honour.[10]
TheCrawford School of Public Policy is named after Crawford, and the school runs the annual Crawford Leadership Forum, opened by the J. G. Crawford Oration.[11] It is also hosts the Sir John G Crawford Chair in Agricultural Economics.[12]
The J.G. Crawford Prize was established by ANU in 1973, as Crawford was ending his term as vice-chancellor, in recognition of his contribution to the university. PhD Graduate students are nominated by college deans, and two (one for the natural sciences and one for social sciences/ humanities) and occasionally a third (for interdisciplinary work) are selected on the basis of academic excellence by a committee.[8][13]
Since mid-2013 and as of July 2021[update], the ANU is undertaking a research project with the title "J.G. Crawford: Shaping Australia's Place in the World". Partnered by theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Crawford Fund, the project won anARC Linkage Grant worthA$197,580.[14] A biography will be written by historianNicholas Brown,[7] whileFrank Bongiorno is also involved in the project.[14]
TheCrawford Fund, a body established in Australia to supportinternational agricultural research was also named in his honour. The fund awards the annual Sir John Crawford Fellowship to support scientists from developing countries, and since 1985 has hosted the Sir John Crawford Memorial Address. Notable speakers includeRoss Garnaut,Frances Adamson,Catherine Bertini,Florence Chenoweth,Craig Venter,Shridath Ramphal andRobert McNamara.[7]
This article was first published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 17, (MUP), 2007
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary of theDepartment of Commerce and Agriculture 1950–1956 | Succeeded by Himself as Secretary of the Department of Primary Industry |
| Succeeded by Himself as Secretary of the Department of Trade | ||
| Preceded by Himself as Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Agriculture | Secretary of theDepartment of Primary Industry 1956 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Himself as Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Agriculture | Secretary of theDepartment of Trade 1956–1960 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of theAustralian National University 1976–1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 4thVice-Chancellor of theAustralian National University 1968–1973 | Succeeded by Robert Williams |
