Roy James Cameron (11 March 19233 October 2006) was an Australian public servant and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. He was the

Australian Statistician The Australian Statistician is the head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on eco ...

from 1977 to 1985.

Life and career

Cameron was born in

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. Port Pirie is the largest city and the main retail centre of the Mid North region of South Australia. The city has an ex ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

on 11 March 1923. He studied at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

, graduating with first class honours from a Bachelor of Economics course in 1948. He graduated a Master of Economics from the university in 1951, with the topic "Standard hours and the basic wage: an analysis of two aspects of the work of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration." He was awarded a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

scholarship to study for his doctorate at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, starting in 1951. He completed his PhD in 1956. From 1973 to 1977 Cameron was Australia's Ambassador to the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

in Paris. His appointment announcement, which was issued by

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...

in 1973, noted Cameron's broad experience in economic and financial matters. In 1977 Cameron returned to Australia to take up his appointment as

. He served in the role until his retirement in August 1985. Cameron died on 3 October 2006.

Awards

Cameron was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in the

1982 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supp ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Roy 1923 births 2006 deaths Australian statisticians Permanent representatives of Australia to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath Harvard University alumni People from Port Pirie University of Adelaide alumni