Ted Hicks
{{Short description|Australian public servant and diplomat}}
{{Use Australian English|date=April 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = Sir
| name = Ted Hicks
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|CBE}}
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| office = Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand
| term_start = 1968
| term_end = 1971
| predecessor = David McNicol
| successor = Dame Annabelle Rankin
| office1 = Secretary of the Department of Defence
| term_start1 = 28 October 1956
| term_end1 = 5 January 1968
| predecessor1 = Sir Frederick Shedden
| successor1 = Sir Henry Bland
| office2 = Secretary of the Department of Air
| term_start2 = 22 December 1951
| term_end2 = 1956
| predecessor2 = Melville Langslow
| successor2 = Tich McFarlane
| birth_name = Edwin William Hick
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1910|06|09|df=y}}
| birth_place = Elsternwick, Victoria
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1984|05|14|1910|06|09|df=y}}
| death_place = Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
| resting_place = Gungahlin Cemetery
| occupation = Public servant
| years_active =
| nationality = Australian
| website =
| parents =
| siblings =
| spouse = Jean MacPherson
(m. 1937–59; her death)
Lois Una Swindon
(m. 1961–84; his death)
| alma_mater = Australian National University
| children =
}}
Sir Edwin William "Ted" Hicks {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|sep=,|CBE}} (9 June 1910 – 14 May 1984) was a senior Australian public servant and diplomat. He was Secretary of the Department of Defence from 1956 to 1968.
Life and career
Ted Hicks was born in Elsternwick, Melbourne, on 9 June 1910.{{citation|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hicks-sir-edwin-william-ted-12632|archivedate=14 May 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514042852/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hicks-sir-edwin-william-ted-12632|url-status=live|title=Hicks, Sir Edwin William (Ted) (1910–1984)|author-link=John Farquharson (journalist)|first=John|last=Farquharson|date=2007|publisher=Australian National University|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography}} He was educated at Haileybury College and Melbourne Grammar School.{{cite news|title=Canberra has two new knights|date=12 June 1965|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131827978|newspaper=The Canberra Times|archivedate=4 February 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204092925/http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/131827978|url-status=live}} Hicks and his parents together moved to Canberra in 1927 and Hicks studied Commerce at the Canberra University College (now known as the Australian National University).
Hicks was appointed Secretary of the Department of Air in 1951, and his effectiveness there led to his appointment in 1956 as head of the Department of Defence, succeeding Frederick Shedden, who had been in the role for many years, including for the entire duration of World War II.
Hicks announced that he would retire from the Department of Defence in December 1967, to be appointed Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand from early 1968.{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|first=Allan|last=Barnes|title=New head for Defence Dept.|page=1|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19671207&id=Kh1WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K-MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6404,1121413|date=7 December 1967}}{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107035652|title=Envoy post to Sir Edwin Hicks|date=7 December 1967|page=1|newspaper=The Canberra Times}}
Hicks died in the Royal Canberra Hospital on 14 May 1984.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126995694|title=Family notices|date=15 May 1984|newspaper=The Canberra Times|page=15}}
Awards
Hicks was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in May 1956 for his service as Secretary of the Department of Air.{{citation|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1064696|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425005836/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1064696&search_type=quick&showInd=true|archivedate=25 April 2014|title=Search Australian Honours: HICKS, Edwin William|publisher=Australian Government|work=itsanhonour.gov.au}} In June 1965, while Secretary of Defence, he was honoured as a Knight Bachelor.{{citation|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1083770|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425005941/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1083770&search_type=quick&showInd=true|archivedate=25 April 2014|title=Search Australian Honours: HICKS, Edwin William|publisher=Australian Government|work=itsanhonour.gov.au}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=Melville Langslow}}
{{s-ttl|title=Secretary of the Department of Air|years=1951–1956}}
{{s-aft|after=Tich McFarlane}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir Frederick Shedden}}
{{s-ttl|title=Secretary of the Department of Defence|years=1956–1968}}
{{s-aft|after=Sir Henry Bland}}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before=David McNicol}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand}}|years=1968–1971}}
{{s-aft|after=Dame Annabelle Rankin}}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, Ted}}
Category:Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Australian Knights Bachelor
Category:Military personnel from Melbourne
Category:High commissioners of Australia to New Zealand
Category:People educated at Melbourne Grammar School
Category:Royal Australian Air Force officers
Category:Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II
Category:Secretaries of the Australian Department of Defence
Category:People from Elsternwick, Victoria
Category:People educated at Haileybury (Melbourne)
Category:Australian National University alumni
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