Herbert Cole Coombs; Advisor to 7 Australian Leaders

Herbert Cole “Nugget” Coombs, 91, considered Australia’s most influential public servant. Nicknamed “Nugget” because of his small, wiry stature, Coombs was a farmhand’s son from Perth and was known as the quintessential knockabout Australian who preferred beer to fine whiskey or wine. But he earned a doctorate at the London School of Economics and became head of the government-owned Commonwealth Bank and later governor of the Central Bank, and was advisor to seven prime ministers. He was also in charge of rationing during World War II, and served as chancellor of the Australian National University, chairman of the Elizabethan Theatre Trust and chairman of the Council for Aboriginal Affairs. On Oct. 29 in Sydney.