David Dexter | |
|---|---|
 1958 portrait | |
| Born | 8 January 1917 St Albans, Hertfordshire, England |
| Died | 15 March 1992 (aged 75) |
| Academic work | |
| Main interests | Australian military history Second World War |
| Notable works | Volume VI of Australia in the War of 1939–1945 |
| Military career | |
| Service | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1940–1946 |
| Rank | Major |
| Service number | VX38890 |
| Commands | 2/4th Commando Squadron |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | mentioned in despatches (2) |
David St Alban Dexter (8 January 1917 – 15 March 1992) was an Australian military historian, commando, diplomat and university administrator.
A 1940 graduate of the University of Melbourne, Dexter enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force in 1940. He volunteered for commando training. He was commissioned as a lieutenant and transferred to the 2/2nd Independent Company. The 2/2nd Independent Company was sent to Portuguese Timor, where it waged a guerrilla war against the Japanese after they invaded the island in February 1942. He returned to Australia with the unit in December. In June 1943 it was sent to New Guinea, where Dexter was wounded while carrying out an ambush on a Japanese force. In 1945, it went to New Britain. Shortly before the end of the war in August 1945, he assumed command of the 2/4th Commando Squadron with the rank of major. He later wrote the New Guinea volume of the Australia in the War of 1939–1945 series.
After the war, Dexter joined the Department of External Affairs. He worked closely with the Minister for External Affairs, H. V. Evatt, accompanying him to the second and third sessions of the United Nations General Assembly in 1947 and 1948, and helping him become the President of the United Nations General Assembly. As the head of the department's foreign aid branch, he was involved in the formulation of the Colombo Plan and developed foreign aid programs in conjunction with the South East Asia Treaty Organization and the United Nations. He became the secretary of the Australian Universities Commission in 1960, and then the Registrar (Property and Plans) at the Australian National University (ANU) in 1967.