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James Scully AO is a retired senior Australian public servant. He is best known for his time in the Australian Government trade department.

Life and career

Scully was the son of William Scully, a federal Labor MP and government minister. He studied English and History at the University of Sydney, going on to join the Australian Public Service in 1949, in the Department of Trade and Customs as a junior clerk.

Between 1961 and 1963, Scully was Assistant Trade Commissioner in Cairo. In 1967, Scully was appointed a First Assistant Secretary in the Department of Trade and Industry, heading the trade services section.

In August 1975, Scully was appointed to his first Secretary role, heading the Department of Minerals and Energy. He went on to fill the Secretary position at the Department of National Resources (1975–1977), the Department of Trade and Resources (1977–1983) and the Department of Trade (1983–1984). In 1981, he led bilateral talks on resources development with South Korea.

After retiring from the public service, Scully moved into a private sector career. He headed an independent committee advising the ACT Government on the Very Fast Train project.

For a time in the 1990s, Scully was a director at Westpac. He resigned following a September 1992 board meeting in which a loss of $1.5 billion was announced.

Awards

Scully was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 1984 for his public service.

References

1. "Waitangi Day reception". The Canberra Times. 7 February 1982. p. 15.
2. ^ Thomas, Tony (18 August 1975). "New man moves into the hottest hot-seat". The Age. p. 5.
3. "Scully begins bilateral talks with South Korea". The Canberra Times. 14 July 1981. p. 17.
4. Davey, Paul (2008), Politics in the Blood: The Anthonys of Richmond, University of New South Wales, p. 196, ISBN 978-1-921410-23-9
5. Coelli, Andree (21 September 1989). "Very Fast Train project moving". The Canberra Times. p. 5.
6. Waterford, Jack (4 October 1992). "New rules for exiled heads". The Canberra Times. p. 11.
7. Bain, Jim (2007), A Financial Tale of Two Cities: Sydney and Melbourne's Remarkable Contest for Commercial Supremacy, University of New South Wales, p. 153
8. "Search Australian Honours: SCULLY, James", itsanhonour.gov.au, Australian Government, archived from the original on 1 July 2014

• Living people
• Australian public servants
• Officers of the Order of Australia
• University of Sydney alumni
• 20th-century Australian businesspeople