Henry George Lang | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Secretary of the Treasury | |
| In office 1969–1977 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Heinrich Lang (1919-03-03)3 March 1919 Vianna, Austria |
| Died | 17 April 1997(1997-04-17) (aged 78) Wellington, New Zealand |
Henry George LangONZ CB (3 March 1919 – 17 April 1997) was a New Zealand public servant, economist, university professor and company director. He was born inVienna, Austria on 3 March 1919 and later became the step-son of the architectErnst Plischke.[1]
Lang was born Heinrich Lang, in 1919 in Vienna, toAnna Schwitzer, a landscape designer, and Robert Lang a hardware manufacturer. His parents later divorced, and in 1935, Anna Schwitzer remarried, marrying architectErnest Plischke.[1]
In 1937, he enrolled in theAkademisches Gymnasium inVienna, and had completed a year of mandatory military service in theAustrian military.[1]
Lang fled Austria as a refugee, together with his mother and step-father in 1939, after his mother came under threat of theGerman occupation of Austria due to her Jewish heritage.[1] Lang's father, Robert Lang was detained in a concentration camp for a time.[2][3]
Lang's family arrived in New Zealand in May 1939, and settled inWellington. Lang changed his name to Henry George Lang.[1]
Lang's first job was in a prune packing facility inPetone, where he later became foreman. He then started working at Warner Brothers Pictures, holding multiple positions (including bookkeeper, accountant and acting secretary) while he pursuing a degree in commerce atVictoria University College.[1][2][3] He complete his degree in 1945.[3]
He enlisted in theRoyal New Zealand Air Force in 1944, where he worked as a field mechanic. He was discharged from the air force in 1946. He continued his university studies while he served, and graduated with a BA in philosophy in 1947.[1][2][3]
Lang was naturalised as a New Zealand citizen in November 1945.[1]
In 1946, following his discharge from the air force, Lang joined the investigative staff of the New Zealand Economic Stabilisation Commission.[1][2] He worked with senior policymakers, includingBernard Ashwin—who served as a mentor and role model[2]—as well as with many emerging officials with whom he would collaborate throughout his career. This experience helped shape the pragmaticKeynesian approach for which he became known in New Zealand public policy.[1][2][3]
In 1949 to 1950, he returned to academia, studying public administration in the Victoria University College on a Public Service Commission grant.[1][2]
In 1951, Lang joined theNew Zealand Treasury, where he was promoted to senior research officer in 1954. He was seconded to the Department of External Affairs in 1955. He became the economic counsellor in the New Zealand High Commission in London where he served until 1958. He then returned to New Zealand, becoming the Treasury's chief research officer. He soon proceeded to rise up the ranks, becoming an assistant secretary in 1963, deputy secretary in 1966, and finally being appointed as Secretary of the Treasury on 20 December 1968.[1][2][3][4][5]
Lang served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1968 to 1977, serving under three ministers of finance –Robert Muldoon,Wallace (Bill) Rowling, andRobert Tizard. Lang's tenure was a turbulent time for the New Zealand economy, with the most notable event being the1973 oil crisis, while heavily impacted New Zealand as a country with no significant native oil or gas resources.[1][4]
Lang took an early retirement in January 1977.[1][4] The Prime Minister at the time, Muldoon, stated that "he was the best Secretary to the Treasury he had ever known."[4]
Following his official retirement from public service, Lang took on the post of a visiting professor of economics at Victoria University of Wellington until 1982.[1][4] Lang took part in the establishment and consolidation of the Institute of Policy Studies at Victoria University in 1983.[1][6]
In 1983, Lang founded theWellington Sculpture Trust together withDr. Ian Prior,[7] where Lang served as chairman.[2]
Lang served on multiple company boards, among themNew Zealand Forest Products, Challenge Finance and National Australia Bank (NZ). He also served as the chair of the Government Life Insurance Corporation (later to be known as the Tower Corporation).[1][4] Additionally, Lang served as a member of the New Zealand Press Council and on the board of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[1]
Lang’s retirement did not mark the end of his public service involvement. Lang took interest in health economics and chaired government reviews of cardiac surgery and the health workforce.[1] In 1979, he was a consultant for a publication for the New Zealand Planning Council on social policy. He advised the government on setting up the Economic Summit Conference of 1984. In 1989, he was involved in a review of the prime minister’s advisory staff.[1]
In the1977 New Year Honours, Lang was appointed aCompanion of the Order of the Bath, in recognition of his service asSecretary to the Treasury since 1969.[8][1]
In 1984, he received an honoraryLLD from Victoria University.[1]
In 1989, Lang became an inaugural member of theOrder of New Zealand.[1]
In his honor, the Wellington Sculpture Trust commissioned a group of sculptures called "Kaiwhakatere: the Navigator", located near the Parliament and Treasury buildings in Wellington.[3][9]
Lang married Octavia Gwendolin (Tup) Turton in 12 December 1942.[1][2][3] He fathered four daughters and one son.[1]
Lang was an avid tramper and skier.[1][2]
In 1996, one of Lang's daughters, Frances Lang, died in an air crash in Peru on her honeymoon.[4][10]
He died inWellington, New Zealand, on 17 April 1997, survived by his wife and four children.[1][4]