Arthur Tange

Sir Arthur Tange was one of Australia’s most influential public servants during the latter half of the 20th century. This award-winning biography examines the career of a man who served the Chifley, Menzies, Gorton, McMahon, Whitlam and Fraser governments at a time when department heads still wielded considerable power.

Reviewing the book in the Australian Financial Review on its initial publication in 2006, Geoffrey Barker declared it was ‘a book that deserves to be compulsory reading for all Australians interested in foreign policy, national security and the complex relationships between senior public servants and their political masters. Edwards has, in fact, used the life of Arthur Tange (1914-2001) as a prism through which to reveal enduring issues in Australian foreign and defence policy and in national government administration from World War II to the present. Edwards’s portrayal of the legendary bureaucrat who headed and shaped both the Foreign Affairs and Defence departments fully captures his complexity and controversial personality.’

Arthur Tange won the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award for History and the WA Premier’s Non-Fiction Award, and was shortlisted for the National Biography Award.