Background
Hasluck was born on April 1, 1905 in Fremantle, Western Australia.
government official historian newspaperman
Hasluck was born on April 1, 1905 in Fremantle, Western Australia.
He attended the Perth Modern School and the University of Western Australia, where he received an M. A. degree.
From 1922 to 1941 he was on the staff of West Australian, Perth's morning newspaper, first as a general reporter and later as a dramatic critic.
An authority on Australian history, he wrote "Our Southern Half-Castes" (1938), and "Black Australians" (1942), and in 1944 was assigned to write the official history of Australia's part in World War II. He was also the author of a book of verse, "Into the Desert" (1939).
In 1939 he lectured on Australian history at the University of Western Australia at Perth. Hasluck joined the Department of External Affairs in 1941. During the next five years he held a succession of posts in Canberra and went abroad with Australian delegations to war conferences in the capacity of either adviser or secretary. After serving as adviser to the Australian delegation at the San Francisco conference of the United Nations in 1945, he was appointed to increasingly important posts in the United Nations organization.
On April 28, 1946, he succeeded Lieutenant Colonel W. R. Hodgson as Australia's representative on the UN Security Council and on the Atomic Energy Commission.
From 1951 to 1963 Hasluck held the post of minister of territories in the Menzies government, and in 1964 he became minister for external affairs. He held this position under the two succeeding prime ministers, Harold Holt and John Gorton. From 1969 to 1974 Hasluck served as governor-general of Australia.
As minister, Hasluck worked to prepare Papua New Guinea for self-rule and eventual independence. Later, as the head of the Ministries for Defense and External Affairs, he supported Australian involvement in the war in Vietnam. In 1968 he was narrowly defeated in his bid to succeed the recently deceased prime minister, Harold Holt, as Liberal Party leader and head of government. Although his appointment as governor-general was controversial, he was widely respected. Hasluck was knighted in 1969.
He was married to Alexandra Darker (1908–1993), they had two sons.
