Richard Casey, Baron Casey

The Right Honourable The Lord Casey KG, GCMG, CH, DSO, MC, PC
Casey in 1954
16th Governor-General of Australia
In office 7 May 1965 – 30 April 1969
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Sir Robert Menzies (1965–66) Harold Holt (1966–67) John McEwen (1967–68) John Gorton (1968–69)
Preceded by	The Viscount De L'Isle
Succeeded by	Sir Paul Hasluck
Minister for External Affairs
In office 11 May 1951 – 4 February 1960
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Percy Spender
Succeeded by	Robert Menzies
Minister for External Territories
In office 26 April 1951 – 11 May 1951
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Percy Spender
Succeeded by	Paul Hasluck
Minister in charge of the CSIRO
In office 23 March 1950 – 4 February 1960
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Donald Alastair Cameron
Minister for Works and Housing
In office 19 December 1949 – 17 March 1950
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Nelson Lemmon
Succeeded by	Wilfrid Kent Hughes
Governor of Bengal
In office 14 January 1944 – 19 February 1946
Preceded by	John Herbert
Succeeded by	Frederick Burrows
Minister to the United States of America
In office 1 February 1940 – 20 April 1942
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies (1940–41) Arthur Fadden (1941) John Curtin (1941–42)
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Sir Owen Dixon
Treasurer of Australia
In office 3 October 1935 – 26 April 1939
Prime Minister	Joseph Lyons (1935–39) Sir Earle Page (1939)
Preceded by	Joseph Lyons
Succeeded by	Robert Menzies
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 16 May 1960 – 17 June 1976
Member of the Australian Parliament for La Trobe
In office 10 December 1949 – 10 February 1960
Preceded by	Division created
Succeeded by	John Jess
Member of the Australian Parliament for Corio
In office 19 December 1931 – 30 January 1940
Preceded by	Arthur Lewis
Succeeded by	John Dedman
Personal details
Born	Richard Gavin Gardiner Casey (1890-08-29)29 August 1890 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Died	17 June 1976(1976-06-17) (aged 85) Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
Political party	United Australia (before 1945) Liberal (after 1945)
Spouse	Maie Ryan ​ (m. 1926)​
Alma mater	University of Melbourne Trinity College, Cambridge
Profession	Diplomat, politician
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Australian Imperial Force
Years of service	1914–1919
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	First World War
Awards	Distinguished Service Order Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (2)

Richard Gavin Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey, KG, GCMG, CH, DSO, MC, PC (29 August 1890 – 17 June 1976) was an Australian statesman who served as the 16th governor-general of Australia, in office from 1965 to 1969. He was also a distinguished army officer, long-serving cabinet minister, Ambassador to the United States, member of Churchill's War Cabinet, and Governor of Bengal.

Casey was born in Brisbane, but moved to Melbourne when he was young. He entered residence at Trinity College, Melbourne, in 1909 while studying engineering at the University of Melbourne before continuing his studies at Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1914, Casey enlisted as a lieutenant in the Australian Imperial Force. He saw service in the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front, reaching the rank of major and winning the Distinguished Service Order and the Military Cross before becoming a Chief Intelligence Officer in 1920. Casey joined the Australian public service in 1924 to work at Whitehall as a liaison officer with the British administration. He reported directly to the prime minister, Stanley Bruce, with whom he developed a close relationship.

In 1931, Casey was elected to federal parliament for the United Australia Party. He served as treasurer from 1935 to 1939 (under Joseph Lyons and Earle Page), and then as Minister for Supply and Development from 1939 to 1940 (under Robert Menzies). During the Second World War, Casey was Ambassador to the United States from 1940 to 1942, and then joined Winston Churchill's War Cabinet as its representative in the Middle East. In 1944, Churchill appointed him Governor of Bengal, where he handled the recovery from the 1943 famine and civil unrest in the lead-up to independence.

Casey returned to Australia in 1946. He was federal president of the fledgling Liberal Party from 1947 to 1950, and re-entered parliament at the 1949 election. Casey was reappointed to cabinet shortly after, again serving under Robert Menzies. He held various national development portfolios from 1949 to 1951, and then served as Minister for External Affairs until his retirement from politics in 1960. In 1965, Menzies named Casey to replace Lord De L'Isle as governor-general. He served for just under four years; the only major constitutional issue during his tenure was the disappearance of Harold Holt in 1967.

The City of Casey within Greater Melbourne is named in recognition of Casey.