title: Laurie Daniels
text: # Laurie Daniels
  
  Lawrence John Daniels CB, OBE (11 August 1916 – 16 September 1994) was a senior Australian public servant and policymaker.
  
  ## Life and career
  
  Laurie Daniels was born in Adelaide on 11 August 1916. He left school, for Sydney, at the age of 17 and won an Australian Public Service job at the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Daniels moved to Canberra in 1946 with the ATO.
  
  In 1973, Daniels was appointed Secretary of the Department of Social Security, where he stayed until 1977. In 1977 he became Secretary of the Department of the Capital Territory, serving a five-year term.
  
  At the end of his Department of Capital Territory appointment, Daniels retired, having served 47 years in the public service.
  
  Daniels died of cancer on 16 September 1994.
  
  ## Awards and honours
  
  Daniels was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1972. In 1979 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath.
  
  In 2009, the Australian Catholic University established the Laurie Daniels Scholarship to commemorate Daniels' life and his contribution to the University, particularly as a founding member of the University Senate.
  
  