The first biography of the man who defined Australian foreign affairs and defence policy for over 25 years brings new light on many of Australia's political crises including the downfall of John Gorton as PM, the fault line in Australian-US relationships during the Whitlam government and the deaths of the Balibo Five in East Timor.
For over twenty-five years, Arthur Tange was arguably Australia's most powerful and influential public servant, serving successive Liberal prime minister and the two Whitlam governments. His power and influence was legendry as was his fierce and uncompromising personality.
As permanent head of the Department of External Affairs and the Department of Defence, Arthur Tange was deeply involved in determining Australian foreign and defence policy from the early 1950 to the end of the 1970s. He played a key role in decisions on the Suez Crisis, Indonesian Confrontation, Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War and the change from forward defence to the defence of Australia. By examining Tange's personal papers and Defence documents not yet released the public, Peter Edwards also throws new light on some of Australia's most significant political crises including the downfall of John Gorton in 1971, the meltdown of Australian-US relations in 1973, the dismissal of the Whitlam government and the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975.
Elegantly written and painstakingly researched, 'Arthur Tange: Last Of The Mandarins' reveals as much about the past as it does about the operations of Australian government today.
