Norman Makin - As Diplomat

As Diplomat

In 1946 Chifley appointed Makin as the Australian Ambassador to the United States, a post he held until 1951. In the gathering Cold War atmosphere of the post-war years, this was a position of great importance to Australia, and Makin performed it so well that the incoming Liberal Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, kept him in the post after the change of government in 1949. In 1946 he served as the first President of the United Nations Security Council.

It has subsequently emerged that during his time in the United States, Makin was involved with the secretive neo-conservative religious group now known as The Family. In 1948 he was a key speaker at a meeting of the group and was recorded in a 1949 newsletter as having started up similar groups in Australia.