The Appointment of the ANU’s First Professor of Economics

The Australian National University (ANU) was established in 1946 by an Act of the Commonwealth Parliament. This study reviews the University’s search for an inaugural professor of economics. After three frustrating years of trying to attract some of the biggest names in economics from Britain and the United States, the appointment went to Trevor Swan, formerly Chief Economist at the Department for Postwar Reconstruction. Consideration is given to the role of W. Keith Hancock, who was in charge of the search, in this long and protracted process.